Urban Realities
by AnimatorZee
Summary: Hellions and Malevolence are bedtime stories to scare children into behaving. Seraphim are a superstition that some deny and others vehemently believe. And the Shepherd is merely a legend told to inspire hope. But there is truth to every legend...and that legend is about to make an alarming and dangerous comeback.
1. Lazy Days

_Have you ever wished that stories would become a reality? That your dreams of discovering new things and battling ferocious monsters, weren't just dreams? Have you ever listened to tales of adventure, of freedom and mystery, and wished they weren't just tales? Have you ever listened to an old woman by the fireside, recalling an enchanting legend of a brave warrior who guided the land into peace and prosperity, by way of magnificent powers, a kind heart, and an unshakable resolve; and wished that it was a reality?_

 _And while we're on the subject, have you also ever heard the phrase, "be careful what you wish for"?_

* * *

Ladylake was a strange city. While in most places, seraphim were merely an urban legend or a superstition, there were quite a few people here that believed they existed. It was hardly surprising, given the region's notoriety for upholding old traditions and legends. Still, even among those that did believe in the seraphim, not everyone thought of them in a positive light. There were claims of ill-intentioned or mischievous seraphim that liked to cause trouble for mortals, and were the cause of things like power surges during storms or other mishaps. The fact of the matter, however, was that there weren't any seraphim in Ladylake at all.

Well, except for one.

The lack of other seraphim was strange, and as much as Mikleo argued that it didn't bother him, Sorey could tell that he was feeling a bit sore about it. Nonetheless, the two managed to find their way in the city just fine. A place full of ancient traditions and superstitions was perfect for a pair of budding archaeologists, even if one of them was invisible to virtually every citizen there. When they weren't tending to their job at the local library (Sorey's job, to be more specific, but Mikleo had few qualms with helping out all things considered), they'd found themselves visiting many vistas and landmarks around town. Today, in particular, they found themselves stopped short of their usual investigations not by previous obligations or crows, but by a barbed-wire fence.

"Why do you think they keep this place locked up, Mikleo?" Sorey asked.

"I'd almost say it's because the building is condemned," the water seraph mused, folding his arms thoughtfully, "But it seems to be in fairly good condition, despite being so old. From the outside, at least."

An astute observation, as always; it confirmed Sorey's own thoughts. Despite being one of the most popular and notable landmarks in town, the Sanctuary in Ladylake was completely fenced off, with signs warning against trespassing scattered about. It was a real shame, as well; Sorey had been eager to visit it ever since he first moved to Ladylake several weeks ago.

"You're right. It definitely looks old, but nowhere close to falling down. It's in really good condition for something supposedly dating back millennia. How do you think that's possible? Seraphic artes, maybe?"

Mikleo abruptly jabbed Sorey in the ribs with his elbow. "Keep your voice down!" he hissed. "You're going to get stared at again!"

Rubbing his side, Sorey offered his friend an apologetic look. It was sometimes difficult for him to remember that not everyone could see his friend. He'd known Mikleo his whole life; being able to see him was as normal as breathing and sleeping. "Right. Sorry..."

"Don't apologize to _me,_ " Mikleo quietly retorted, but offered no further complaints, returning his attention to the building in question and changing his tone to match. "It wouldn't surprise me if it were dangerous inside. A house might look okay outside, but the floors and stairs could be too rotten to climb."

Sorey frowned thoughtfully. "It makes sense..." It was a shame. Ever since he moved to Ladylake several weeks ago, he'd been eager to delve into the town's history. What he'd been met with was more than a little disappointing, but he'd pressed on in hopes of finding something to satisfy his curious mind. Alisha had informed him that the Sacred Blade Festival - the very same one they still practiced, and coming up the very next weekend - used to be held in the Sanctuary, and it was quite the affair. When he asked her about the details, however, she'd reluctantly stated that that had only been the state of things long before she was even born; no one had been inside the Sanctuary for ages. While disappointing, it had also only served to feed Sorey's undying curiosity. What was it like inside? Just how grand was the festival? What was the Sacred Blade, anyway? And who was the Lady of the Lake? Did the Festival really have a connection to-

"Hey! Are you listening to me?"

Snapped from his thoughts, Sorey sheepishly smiled at Mikleo. "Sorry! I got a little lost in thought, there."

Mikleo sighed, shaking his head. "I thought so."

It was certainly good that there weren't too many people paying attention to him at the time, because Sorey's half-amused, half-ashamed laugh would have drawn more than a few strange looks. Part of him was glad that Rose had opted to remain home that day to finish up a few order forms to prepare for the festival; she probably would have suggested the two of them sneak in if they wanted to see the Sanctuary so badly. On the other hand, maybe he could ask Alisha about this place when he got home that evening. The princess was usually quite busy, but somehow she always managed to make time to chat with Sorey, eagerly talking with him about Ladylake's history and traditions. With the Sacred Blade Festival coming up, though, she might be too busy to have a longer discussion. And that was even assuming she knew why the Sanctuary was closed off in the first place.

"Anyway," Mikleo continued, finally cracking a smile, "The festival's in a few days, and the museum is planning a special exhibit to correspond with it. Want to go check it out once it's ready?"

The very prospect of it lifted Sorey's spirits, and a bright smile crossed his face. "Like you have to ask!" came Sorey's enthusiastic reply. The weekend could not come fast enough.

* * *

 _History is ever doomed to repeat itself, so long as that history becomes muddled or lost. Lessons long taught soon are forgotten, and mankind repeats the same mistakes it made in ages past. Be that as it may, however, there is always a constant. Amongst the hellions, the seraphim, the malevolence...there will always be legends. Legends of a Shepherd that would guide the people to a more peaceful age, quelling the Lord of Calamity and returning light to a once dark time. But it seems even that legend has faded. Not entirely, of course. Through old traditions and the retelling of tales in their many forms, shreds of truth remain. The smallest of pieces that, while it may not form the entire story, give just enough to keep the legend alive._

 _Should those pieces fail to be put together in time, those same dangers from the past will rise once more, and the world will suffer for it...or be lost forever._


	2. A Little Something Amiss

Why, of all times during the year, did the Sacred Blade Festival have to take place in the middle of the _summer?_ Was it because school was let out and families across the continent went traveling on vacation? Did it have something to do with ancient tradition? Was the famed Lady of the Lake just a fan of hot, humid weather?

Sorey and Mikleo would probably be the ones to know a more concrete answer, and would probably toss in a straight face and a few hypotheses in for good measure, rather than properly recognizing any sarcasm. For Rose, though, she was just tired of all the heat and the sweating it brought with it. On the plus side, the breeze was coming in through her open window as usual, keeping the heat in her room to a much more bearable level. It was far better than having to deal with sweat while sorting through order forms and the like. Not that there were very many to go through; business was slow at the moment. It hardly bothered the Sparrowfeathers, considering the upcoming festival; with it would come tourists. And with tourists, of course, came money. Lots of it.

Having finished her work in record time due to the sheer lack of it, Rose flopped back onto her bed, boredom quickly taking hold. The wind blew softly through her open window, rustling her curtains and bringing the sounds of busy streets below with it. The sun was out today, and the sky was clear... It was a perfect day to be doing anything other than staying cooped up in her apartment. Besides, it wasn't as if there was much more work to do, anyway; the festival planning was already being taken care of. The trouble was, there was hardly anything to do in the first place.

A few cheery chimes on her phone alerted her to an incoming text message. Plucking her phone up from nearby, Rose held it up and and began reading.

 _\- - Rose, Sorey and I are going to be working late at the library, so we can't meet up today._

Of course. Mikleo must have been borrowing Sorey's phone again. Rose let out a sigh; it figures that on such a perfect day, she wouldn't be able to spend her free time hanging out with friends. Lazily, she typed back a message:

 _\- - no prob. lets shoot for tomorrow afternoon._

The moment she hit send, she unceremoniously dropped her phone and frowned at the ceiling as though it were the source of all her problems. Well, if Sorey and Mikleo were out of the picture, what was she left to do? There was nothing interesting playing in the local theatre, and Alisha was probably neck-deep in Festival preparations herself, not to mention her constant tutoring. You'd think nobility in this day and age wouldn't be so relevant. She could always swing by the library, of course, but visiting her friends while they were on the job was usually not a very good idea, given that it was a library of all places. Besides, being able to spot only one of them made things a little difficult. She'd have to find something else...

As if answering her unspoken prayers, she heard a few frantic footsteps down the hall before a familiar face made itself known in her doorway. "Hey, boss!"

Rose sat up on her bed, more than thankful for the opportunity to beat her boredom. "Yeah? What is it?"

"We picked up something on the police scanner," came Talfryn's eager reply. "Sounds like they're having a hard time with a few thugs over at the market. They've been going at it for half an hour."

Rose quirked an eyebrow. "That much trouble over a few thugs?" She echoed. That couldn't be right. The police shouldn't have that much issue with a few lowlifes, certainly not enough to keep them occupied for thirty minutes. Unless...

 _Lunarre._ Of course.

Well, it wasn't how she'd expected to be breaking the silence on a summer day, but it would do. Maybe this time they'd finally be able to take care of that thorn in their side before he slipped away. Rose hopped to her feet and slid open a hidden compartment door within her closet, revealing a dark, hooded uniform. Taking on tasks involving her secret second job wasn't her idea of beating the summer boredom, but it was better than trying to find something on TV. Besides, something about this seemed strange, what with him pulling stunts like this in broad daylight. It was one of her usual gut feelings, of course, but time and experience had taught her that those were usually right.

"You and Felice stay behind to run the shop," Rose ordered. "I'll go see what's going on. Have the others get ready in case I need backup. Got it?"

"Got it!"

The moment her door was closed, Rose made a swift change into her hooded, masked outfit. Without even bothering to close her window, she snatched up her cell phone and slipped it into her pocket before heading out the back door, weaving through the back alleys with the wind at her back.

* * *

The library had seen busier days, that was certain, but that afternoon the library was still kept Mikleo and Sorey quite occupied. As per usual, Mikleo had taken to sorting books either in the more secluded sections or anywhere that wasn't populated by any patrons (they'd quickly learned the first time someone spotted a stack of floating books that it wasn't a good idea to let him help out near higher-traffic areas), and they'd certainly needed the extra hands that day. When Sorey's break rolled around, the two of them ended up sitting outside for a few snacks. Though Mikleo claimed to not be hungry, as seraphim didn't quite have a need for food to survive, they ended up sharing a bag of bunny jerky out of one of the vending machines anyway.

"All the copies of the Celestial Record are still checked out," Mikleo said. "When I was handling the history section, I don't think I saw a single one waiting to be returned."

"Aren't a few of those way overdue by now?" Sorey asked, taking a bite out of his jerky. The Celestial Record wasn't exactly the most popular book in the library to check out, and was often only borrowed for people doing research projects or people whom simply had an interest in history and archaeology, like him and Mikleo. Although they had their own copy at home, Sorey had been delighted to see the copies at the library getting used. This, though, was worrisome. "I could've sworn we should've had them all back last week."

Mikleo nodded, but frowned anyway. "True, but I did see a few people pass by today looking to read it themselves. It was a shame to have to see them turned away because what they were looking for wasn't there."

Sorey smiled reassuringly, leaning against the side of the building and staring down the street. "I'm sure they'll bring it back soon," he said. "You know how some of the people here get with the late fees."

The water seraph opened his mouth to respond, but abruptly halted as a look of alarm flashed across his face, and his attention was turned to the sky. "That's odd," Mikleo remarked, staring at that Sorey couldn't pinpoint... Or was he looking at anything at all? Whatever it was, it certainly had him on edge.

Sorey sat up. "What is it?" He asked.

Mikleo's turned to Sorey, eyes widened a little in worry. "You don't feel that?"

Well, that wasn't what he was expecting. Sorey blinked. "Feel what?" Maybe this was a seraph thing? But that couldn't be right. This had _never_ happened before. And if it was, Mikleo would have explained it instead of asking him, wouldn't he?

No sooner than Mikleo opened his mouth to respond did he shut it once more. His eyes narrowed in thought, and he looked away. "I'm...not sure. Something just didn't feel right for a moment there."

Cautiously, Sorey rested a hand on Mikleo's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Mikleo replied.

Well, if he said he was fine, then he was fine. Sorey lowered his hand, but still kept a cautious eye on his friend. It wasn't so much that he didn't trust that Mikleo was alright. He was simply worried. Such a reaction had come from nowhere, and while the water seraph was prone to occasional overreactions, they were usually over much more petty and trivial things. Such a serious reaction couldn't mean anything good.

Overhead, the bell above the library rang out. Mikleo pushed himself to his feet and dusted off his pants. "Our break's almost over. We should head back inside before you get in trouble."

Sorey followed suit, tossing the empty jerky bag into a nearby recycling can. "You know, you don't have to help me out with this job so much."

Mikleo shrugged. "I don't have anything else to do during the day. Besides, I don't mind it. There's a lot of fulfilling ways to help out patrons even if they can't see you." He offered Sorey a warm smile. "Come on. We've still got a lot of work to do, and we don't want to leave it all for tomorrow."

With that, the two headed back inside. Although Sorey was eager to get back inside, he couldn't help but wonder what it was that Mikleo had felt, or seen. It gnawed at his mind and tugged at his curiosity. Soon, however, he pushed the thought from his mind. If Mikleo said he was alright, then he was alright. The two had grown up together, after all, and had a strong bond of trust; if something was truly bothering Mikleo, he'd let Sorey know. He always did.

* * *

The air was thick with corruption, to the point where it was nearly tangible. The sky was so dark that the sun barely shone through. Some people were no longer people, but instead mockeries of their former selves. And yet, it seemed like a perfectly average summer day...but that was only because they couldn't see anything. Not the darkness, not the monsters, and certainly not him.

"Already running out of time, huh?" he muttered. "Looks like we'll need that extra hand if we want to make it out of this in one piece."

He cast a glance back at Marlind, eyes narrowed in some emotion caught between apprehension and determination. Then, putting the city behind him, he set off down the road, gravel crunching underfoot as the shadows thickened.


	3. Mischeif and Mysteries

The scene was a mess. There were signs of a break-in somewhere near the mall just across the street from the market, and while there were hardly any signs of any thugs about, they'd overheard a description of the suspect and where he was last seen. It was an easy enough hint to pick up on. Mere minutes later, they were dashing across the rooftops, chasing after that slippery, traitorous fox. He was toting around a sizable bag, no doubt filled with stolen goods. It was odd that he'd stooped to burglary, but Rose could question it later. Right now, he needed to be caught and interrogated at the very least.

As usual, the wind seemed to defy the weather forecast for that day and remained at their backs, driving them all forward. It was a liberating feeling, one that Rose would probably enjoy more if she wasn't currently chasing after the perpetual thorn in her side. They practically glided over the rooftops, soared over alleyways and streets. Despite his heavy load, however, Lunarre wasn't as easy prey as Rose had hoped. Still, they were gaining on him. He wasn't going to last long.

Rosh hurled a dagger up ahead just as the wind surged forward. It tore through the air, lodging itself firmly in Lunarre's shoulder just as he was clearing an alley. With a shriek, the man dropped the bag he was carrying, sending it tumbling to the streets below. Lunarre himself stumbled upon landing and skidded several yards before forcing himself to his feet.

"He's all yours, boss!" Rosh called out. "We'll take care of the goods!"

With a curt nod, Rose spun back around and charged forward again with renewed speed. Lunarre had slowed considerably, though he'd begun running a bit faster again once he pulled the knife out of his shoulder and discarded it. He was still wounded, and he'd lost his cargo, so it was enough of a small victory. Rose could easily just let him go and deliver the goods back to their rightful owners, but Lunarre needed to be stopped, and _she would stop him._

What happened next forever remained a blur in her memory. One moment, Rose was coiling down and preparing to charge forward, the next she was moving so fast, so fervently, that she could only catch snippets of what she'd done next. The air was swirling like a maddened cyclone, and she sped towards Lunarre at a speed that should have been impossible. But she hardly paid it any heed. Nothing else around her mattered except her target, and she would not stop until he was taken down.

At some point, she managed to tackle him off of the rooftop, and they plummeted to the streets below. Lunarre slammed into a car, denting the roof on impact. Rose's own descent somehow slowed as she reached the ground, enough for her to land gracefully and without pain. She should have felt victorious, but in that moment something made her wary and watchful. It was almost too easy. Lunarre had been giving her problems for almost a year now; this couldn't end that quickly.

Sure enough, the man gave a mad cackle and jumped to his feet, tearing down the road. Blood still seeped from his wound and dotted the concrete, but it hardly stopped him from running. As Rose took off again, the world once more swirled around her, the only thing in focus the man she was chasing. Only when he made a wrong turn into a dead-end alley did she feel room to stop and properly breathe.

Her hands tightened their grip on her daggers without her meaning to, and words slipped through her lips almost unbidden: "That's enough out of you."

Lunarre grinned. He almost looked amused that she'd followed him this far, or that he'd actually managed to be cornered. Not even moments after he did, he twitched, his grin fading as he glanced just past Rose. It took focus not to fall for such a bluff, but Rose held fast. This was Lunarre, after all; there was no telling how low he'd stoop or how far he'd go to evade capture again. "You can't trick me that easily," Rose growled.

Either he was clinging to his trick with every ounce of cunning he had, or something really _had_ caught his eye, because only when Rose spoke did Lunarre return his attention to her, his wicked grin returning...but it had an eerie, foreboding air of _knowing_ rather than conceit. "Long time no see, _Boss_. I didn't know the Scattered Bones went after _petty thieves_ these days."

Rose sneered, though she knew her face wouldn't be seen through her mask. "I didn't know you stooped down to petty theft, Lunarre. Cut to the chase and tell me what you're _really_ after."

How he had the gall to laugh at such a question, she hardly knew. "And ruin all the fun? I don't _think_ so."

"I'll force it out if I have to."

"Is that supposed to _scare_ me? You've lost your touch-"

" _Answer my question_ , Lunarre."

For a moment, Lunarre shrank back, and a light breeze blew through the alley as though punctuating Rose's words. It was enough of a distraction for Rose to dart forward, closing in enough to pin Lunarre against the chain link fence and press a dagger to his throat. Tempting as it was, she wouldn't kill him yet. She still needed answers.

"I won't warn you again. Tell me what you were doing, or I'll get it out of you the hard way."

Lunarre glared at her, eyes narrowing to slits. He'd run out of room to toy with her, it seemed, and he knew it. "I was _just_ earning my bounty, is all," he snarled. "And I would've been getting paid a pretty penny by now, had you not interfered!"

"You betrayed us so that you could stoop to common burglary, then?" Rose pressed the knife closer to Lunarre's throat. "I've heard better stories from-"

A burst of searing heat slammed into her midsection and threw her back. Rose somehow managed to keep her footing, forcing her gaze back up in time to see Lunarre charging at her. His eyes were wide, his lips curled into a bloodthirsty grin. Quickly stepping out of the way, Rose made to bury her daggers in his back, or at least one of his limbs, only for him to dash past her. The man let out an almost inhuman snarl as he slid to a stop, kicking up dust as he went, and held one hand in front of him to summon - Rose thought her eyes were tricking her when she saw it - a monstrous blue flame.

Whatever kind of trick it was, Rose pushed it into the back of her mind; there'd be plenty of time to think on it later. She raced forward to attack, only barely noting how poor Lunarre's aim was, as it missed her by at least a foot and a half. She swiped a dagger across his ribs, eliciting a screech of pain from the traitorous thief. Before she could move in for the kill, however, Lunarre let out a roar of rage, and the flame in his hand burst outward, consuming his entire being and surging upward from the spot where he stood. When the flames cleared a few seconds later, he was gone without a trace.

Moments slipped by as Rose processed what she just saw. Soon enough, she scowled, slipping her daggers back into their sheathes. Whatever tricks he'd just pulled, that slippery little fox had gotten away _again_. At least this time she was able to help minimize the damage. Still, something was nagging her. What had Lunarre been staring at when she arrived? What was he going on about? And since when was he so strong, let alone acquire the ability to summon flames? To say that something wasn't right was a vast understatement.

Rose ducked into the back alleys once more, making her way back to the rooftops to find and retrieve Rosh's dagger. Lunarre may have escaped again today, but he'd left her with a few crucial hints. He was done playing games, it seemed, done with the smaller offenses and done with merely causing trouble for the Scattered Bones to come clean up. Now, he certainly seemed up to something. Not only that, but he was doing someone's dirty work. But who, and what...?

* * *

Alisha Diphda let out a quiet sigh and brushed her hair out of her face. The festival preparations hadn't gone this roughly since she began participating in them annually, but this year seemed especially difficult, and she could always stand to have things go a little more smoothly. If that weren't enough, her usual pastimes were taking a turn for the worse as well, leaving her with little room to relax properly.

She'd requested a copy of the Celestial Record for studying purposes, only to find that neither the royal nor the public library had a copy available. She'd since sent someone to visit one of the bookstores around the city to see if there were any there she could use. Worst case scenario, she'd have to order a copy from elsewhere. Perhaps the library Marlind would have one; it wasn't far away and she might be able to get a hold of it before the festival began...

"My lady..."

Speaking of which. A young lady stood quietly in her doorway, hands folded neatly in front of her. She was new to the estate and a little jumpy, but thus far she'd proven incredibly reliable. Alisha offered her a warm smile. "There you are. Did you manage to find anything?"

The young servant shook her head. "I-I'm afraid not. None of the bookstores seemed to have a copy of the Celestial Record. The police had the entire area near the market closed off, so I was unable to check the stores there..."

The dismay was painfully evident on the servant's face. She'd done her best to fulfill Alisha's request, only to come up empty-handed. Alisha was disappointed, to be sure, but she couldn't help but wonder why all copies of the book had suddenly disappeared. She couldn't recall any previous occasion in which the festival prompted such a well-known text to suddenly get sold out. In fact, it was a common enough tome, on par with the likes of a dictionary or an encyclopedia. Why would it suddenly vanish like that?

A familiar ping sounded from the speakers at her computer. Deciding to ponder the matter later, she gave a quiet nod. "It's alright, Miranda. We can always check them again some other day. Thank you."

As the young servant left, Alisha made her way over to her computer, pulling up a small, blinking IM window.

 ** _mabocurrybuns has logged in.  
_ mabocurrybuns**: ALISHA! ALISHA, U THERE?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : nvm ur probably busy with all that festival stuff  
 **mabocurrybuns** : w/e ill catch u later  
 ** _mabocurrybuns has logged out._**

There and gone like the wind, as usual. Rose could be difficult to get a hold of. Running the store was one thing, but sometimes she'd abruptly vanish for no reason. Alisha never understood it, but she'd learned long ago not to give it too much thought. Rose certainly didn't, nor did she see fit to explain just what she was up to while she was out, other than some vague response about important errands that couldn't wait. Perhaps running a store was more demanding than she thought.

Next to Rose's window was another one, with a message that had been sent much more recently...

 _ **ruinsftw has logged in.**_  
 _ **twin-flow has logged in.**_  
 **ruinsftw** : alisha! are you there?  
 **knightofladylake** : Sorry to keep you waiting, Sorey. I'm here.  
 **knightofladylake** : Did you need something?  
 **ruinsftw** : i just wanted to say hi. mikleo and i just got home from work  
 **ruinsftw** : we gotta go run some errands in a bit though.  
 **ruinsftw** : how've you been? we haven't talked in ages!  
 **knightofladylake** : I'm doing well. Planning for the festival has kept me very busy.  
 **knightofladylake** : Speaking of which... Sorey, do you mind if I borrow your copy of the Celestial Record?  
 **knightofladylake** : My copy seems to have gone missing, and I can't find another one anywhere. It's very strange.  
 **ruinsftw** : whoa, really?  
 **knightofladylake** : Yes. I sent Miranda out to find one at a bookstore earlier. I planned on donating it once I found my old one, but none of the stores in town have a copy, either...  
 **ruinsftw** : all the copies at the library are gone, too!  
 **ruinsftw** : maybe with the festival coming up, people finally have a lot of interest in it?  
 **knightofladylake** : That was my original thought, yes, but this hasn't happened before. I get the feeling something may be wrong.  
 **ruinsftw** : huh?  
 **knightofladylake** : Oh, that's right... You haven't lived here for that long. This'll be your first festival, won't it?  
 **ruinsftw** : yeah. i'm really looking forward to it! :D  
 **ruinsftw** : we're meeting rose at the food court tomorrow at 3. can you meet us there? i can give it to you then!  
 **knightofladylake** : I'm afraid I can't. I still have a lot to attend to. I'm barely able to leave the house.  
 **knightofladylake** : My apologies, Sorey.  
 **ruinsftw** : that's okay! we can just bring it to you, in that case.  
 **twin-flow** : Just as long as you're careful with it.  
 **knightofladylake** : There you are, Mikleo! :)  
 **twin-flow** : Sorry for the wait.  
 **twin-flow** : SOMEONE forgot to clean out the rice cooker last night.  
 **ruinsftw** : i was reading! :(  
 **twin-flow** : Anyway, we're out of rice again, so we're going to head out and pick some up before the shop closes.  
 **ruinsftw** : we'll see you later, alisha!  
 **knightofladylake** : See you later! Say hello to Rose for me!  
 **twin-flow** : Will do. :)  
 _ **ruinsftw has logged out.**_  
 _ **twin-flow has logged out.**_

* * *

Naps solved _so many_ problems. After tough encounters like the one with Lunarre, Rose was more than ready for one. She was exhausted, in a little bit of pain, and her mind was still racing after seeing that fire that Lunarre had summoned. She'd arrived home with Rosh's knife - the Scattered Bones may have been vigilantes on the side of peace and protecting Ladylake, but the law still wasn't very keen on them or their methods, so they had to leave behind as little evidence of their presence as possible to prevent their identities from coming out - and went straight to bed. Just an hour or two, surely the twins could hold out that long before she finally felt better.

To no one's surprise, especially not Rose's, she woke up feeling refreshed, her pain was but a distant memory, and she could've sworn that some of her bruises were gone as well. Eguille had long ago chalked it up to her uncanny ability to heal quickly, but no matter what it was, Rose was thankful for it. Naps were a great problem-solver, and she swore by them.

Rosh still hadn't returned from the skirmish, but any of Rose's worries were quickly assuaged when the twins confirmed that he'd been in contact and was perfectly fine. Between the police investigating the crime scene (Why bother, Rose wondered, when Lunarre was damn near impossible for them to track down) and the festival preparations being done in a few areas of the city, getting back with a large sack of stolen goods was proving difficult. Stealth was more important than swiftness, even if it meant getting home would take a while.

Once she was properly changed into a more civilian-friendly outfit, Rose headed downstairs to check on the twins and help out any customers. The shop wasn't that big, all things considered; it was about twice the size of a convenience store with a small selection of food and other necessities, with another section dedicated to souvenirs for the tourists and a few of the Sparrowfeathers' own specialty goods. All of that combined with the Sparrowfeathers' business filling special orders kept business flowing quite well. In fact, in any normal situation, they'd probably have enough to open up a new location, or even expand. However, a lot of that extra money went into their side job as the Scattered Bones, and even that aside, everyone was perfectly content with having just one small location. Maybe they'd get themselves a fancier booth at the festival this year with all that money.

As it turned out, Rose picked a refreshing time to head down and check on the store. In one of the food aisles was a familiar young man, dressed in a blue hoodie and a pair of slacks, with a mop of unkempt brunette hair and a set of feathered ear cuffs. Next to him was...a bag of brown rice, floating in midair.

Sorey and Mikleo.

Rose repressed a shudder; just because she was used to Mikleo being around hardly meant she wasn't any less creeped out by it. At least he'd been considerate so far, as her first meeting with him had been met with a hefty amount of anxiety, screaming, and a punch that actually managed to connect with his jaw. She'd apologized for it later, but Mikleo had more than taken the hint to be careful not to spook her.

It was only a moment or two before Sorey noticed Rose heading her way, and he looked up to giver her his usual cheerful smile. "Hey, Rose!"

"Hey to you, Sorey!" Rose called, waving to him. "Haven't seen you here in a while."

"Work's been keeping me late," Sorey explained. "Alisha says hi, by the way."

"So she _did_ get my message." Rose folded her arms. "Between all those preparations she makes and all the errands I've got to run, it's almost impossible to get a hold of her. You're the only one out of the three of us that manages to hold down a regular schedule most of the time."

There was a pause as Sorey glanced at the empty space next to him. "Well," he began, grinning sheepishly, "Technically, _four_ of us, but-"

The bag of rice was abruptly shoved into Sorey's arms, cutting him off with a surprised yelp.

"What brings you two here, anyway?" Rose asked.

"Just running a few errands of our own," Sorey replied. "We ran out of rice last night."

Rose gave Sorey a doubtful look. "Again? Do you two eat anything other than rice?"

Sorey shrugged. "Well, it _is_ pretty convenient to make."

Of course he would use that excuse. Rose knew better than anyone what was really going on; Mikleo had clued her in over a private IM before that it wasn't just Sorey's awful eating habits (or lack thereof) at play. Snatching up an apple from where the produce sat nearby, Rose tossed it at Sorey. "Here, food's on me this time. You can't live on rice and ramen, Sorey."

Before the boy could utter a reply, Rose felt a tap on her shoulder. Behind her stood one of the twins, his cheery smile betraying a hint of urgency. "What is it, Talfryn?"

"We just heard back from Rosh," Talfryn said. "He should be back in about half an hour."

Though it was unspoken, Rose knew that Rosh would need to speak to everyone once he got back. After all, he had some important evidence with him, and they'd need to sort through it and get the stolen goods back to their rightful owners. Rose grinned. "Sure thing," she replied. "Thanks for letting me know."

With his own nod of understanding, Talfryn headed back to the cash register. Sorey tilted his head. "What's going on?"

"Rosh headed out to run some errands a while back and ran into some traffic," Rose explained. It wasn't entirely wrong, but she couldn't risk Sorey knowing about her more dangerous side occupation. He may be a friend, but the Scattered Bones were still top secret for everyone's safety, both the group and the civilians alike. Even if they helped keep things safe and did away with criminals, their poor reputation and relationship with the authorities meant they couldn't reveal who they were. Excuses like this were so commonplace and so well-established that Rose hardly even needed to think twice when she mentioned them.

As usual, though, Sorey bought it. "Oh, right! We had some trouble getting here, too. It's a lot easier on foot, but traffic was all held up because of some incident over at the marketplace..." Sorey's voice trailed off as he paused, tilting his head and staring in concern at Rose...and leaning a little to the side to gaze right past her, towards the back desk.

Rose turned around to see what was going on, but the only thing happening was Felice helping another customer with a special order. "What?" She asked.

He blinked a few times, but then Sorey shook his head. "N-Nevermind. It's nothing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Just...thought I saw something, that's all." He offered his usual reassuring smile. Before Rose had any more time to dwell on it, he cleared his throat. "Anyway, we should get home before traffic gets worse again. See you around tomorrow?"

Rose grinned, placing her hands on her hips. "Same time, same place!"

It took some convincing, but Rose had insisted that Sorey not pay for the food she'd shoved at him that trip. Mikleo must have helped, because he conceded quicker than usual. Shortly after they left, Rose got a text from Mikleo promising he'd make sure Sorey actually ate properly between his binge-reading sessions.

Just as Rose was beginning to write up everything she'd given to Sorey, she felt a breeze blow past her face. She glanced up, expecting to have to close a window, or perhaps someone had walked in the door...but there was nothing. The windows were closed, and there weren't any other customers. It couldn't have been from when Sorey left; the automatic door wasn't open long enough to let a breeze in, let alone one that blew by a good two to three minutes later.

After a few moments of thought, Rose shrugged, and headed to the front to put up the _CLOSED_ sign in preparation for Rosh's arrival. Perhaps it was nothing.


	4. Something Bigger

"Are you _still_ awake?"

Sorey looked up from the Celestial Record, wholly unaware of the dark circles that had begun forming under his eyes. "Huh?" He replied blearily.

Mikleo rested one hand on his hip and gave Sorey a half-hearted glare. Of course he would be half-asleep reading again; whenever Sorey got his nose in a book, it was as though time lost all meaning to him. "It's almost two in the morning," Mikleo said. "Go to bed already."

"But _you're_ still up!" Sorey protested.

The young water seraph rolled his eyes. "I don't need sleep the way you do, remember? The Celestial Record isn't going anywhere, Sorey. You can read it some more in the morning."

Several more excuses and a mug of hot chocolate later, Sorey was reluctantly in bed and asleep. Mikleo let out a sigh; Sorey really could be a handful sometimes. He swore the boy would get into a lot more trouble if he weren't around to reign him in before it was too late, but he didn't mind. Sorey was the most important thing in the world to him, after all, even long before they'd decided to move to Ladylake.

Mikleo gently closed the bedroom door (he had to lift it a certain way so it wouldn't get stuck on the frame; Sorey had figured out that trick shortly after they'd finished moving in) and headed to the kitchen to finish up a few more chores before he got some rest himself. He could join him once he'd cleaned up all the bowls Sorey had used up and subsequently scattered about the living room while he was preoccupied. Their apartment didn't come with a dishwasher, so they had to clean all of the dishes by hand. Mikleo didn't mind it much; it gave him something to do and-

Frowning, he turned the knob next to the faucet a few more times. No water came out. It wasn't broken again, was it? He didn't even hear or otherwise sense any water running in the pipes. Did Sorey...? The young seraph cast a weary glance at the bedroom door before shaking his head and placing the small stack of bowls in the sink anyway. It was certainly more convenient to just use the sink the way it was intended, but with no running water, he'd have to cheat this a little bit. At least artes made it go by a little faster.

He was just finishing up and drying off the first bowl when he heard footsteps on the balcony. Warily, Mikleo summoned his staff, stepping slowly towards the window. Crime wasn't exactly common in Ladylake - not with vigilantes like the Scattered Bones running around - but that hardly meant there weren't still thieves seeking out the perfect place to rob. From where he stood, he saw no one on their balcony. On the building across from theirs, however, a shadow of a person stood on one of the unoccupied balconies. Mikleo couldn't make out any particular features other than the fact that they seemed to be quietly watching him. He shuddered; were they staring into the apartment itself, at the dishes that seemed to be washing themselves...or could they actually _see_ him?

By the time Mikleo got the window open and peered outside for a better look, the stranger was gone without a trace. He looked around, seeking some sign of her presence, but it was too dark to really see anything. As much as he tried to dismiss it as just his imagination, he couldn't deny that he really did see someone there. No sooner than the thought crossed his mind did a sudden pang of nausea wash over him, and he closed the window firmly. He hadn't told Sorey yet, but being in the city tended to take a toll on him. So long as the two remained close to one another, though, he felt fine. He never really was sure why, but didn't think to question it too much, either. In a way, Sorey seemed to look out for Mikleo just as much as Mikleo looked out for Sorey, even if he wasn't aware of it.

Just to be on the safe side, Mikleo closed the blinds before heading back to his chores.

* * *

There was a spare room upstairs that had no windows and only a single door. It was a perfect meeting room for the Scattered Bones, aside perhaps from the fact that it was a little dimly lit and could get a little stuffy. The twins ended up installing some extra lighting, and several summers ago, someone had set up a fan for good measure.

Everyone was ready and waiting for Rose when she got there, in uniform and eagerly awaiting her report. Good. That would save her plenty of time. "He put up a fight, as usual, but I got him to talk before he got away."

"What'd you get out of him?" Eguile asked.

"Only that he did this as a job for someone else," Rose said. "I got him to mention something about earning a bounty, but I couldn't get anything else before he escaped."

"So someone's paying him to do their dirty work," Talfryn remarked. "It's not like Lunarre to take up petty thievery, even for pay. Whoever hired him for his job must've been offering him a _lot_ of gald."

"Do we have any leads on who his client is?" Rosh asked.

Rose shook her head. "Only whatever's in that sack. What've we got?"

All heads turned to Rosh. His expression was stern, but laced with confusion as he picked up the bag and set it on the table in the center of the room. "Books," he explained. "Lots of them."

It was enough to make her pause. If Lunarre had taken valuables or other oddities, that would narrow it down to several obvious suspects she'd been eyeing for some time. But books...?

"What's his client want with a bunch of books?" Felice asked, echoing Rose's thoughts.

"I know _one_ way to find out." Rose opened up the sack and peered in. Rosh wasn't kidding; there were a _ton_ of books inside, enough to make Rose wonder how Lunarre could carry something so heavy while running from them. Some of the books had price tags attached to them, while others had seen varying degrees of use. She opened up the cover of one of the used ones, her eyes narrowing in thought as she found a library card pocket glued to the front cover. Most of them were hardcover, while some appeared to be paperback. There were even a few fancier ones (especially among the used ones) that had leather covers or gold leaf. But all of them had something in common: the cover was almost always a dark red; and there was a stylized, decorative gold symbol on the front, be it printed somehow, embossed, or made of an actual metal. Rose had little interest in literature, but she'd lived in Ladylake long enough to recognize it anywhere.

"They're all copies of the Celestial Record."

There were a few sounds of surprise from the others while Rose examined one of the fancier copies more closely. As she did, a few puzzle pieces clicked into place. Alisha had mentioned trying to track down a book and having trouble to do so, and Sorey had talked about patrons having some similar troubles at the library. Lunarre _had_ to be the one responsible for it all, or at least the copies in the bag. Still...

"What would _anyone_ want with so many copies of the Celestial Record?" Felice asked. "You'd think _one_ would be more than enough."

Rose shook her head. "I don't think his employer just wanted something to read. They wanted _every single copy_ ; and they were willing to hire Lunarre, of all people, to do their dirty work." Warily, she looked back up at the other vigilantes. "I dunno about you guys, but I get the feeling that there's something big going on here."

The look on everyone's face spoke volumes of their shared anxious agreement: This was no mere theft. Someone either wanted this book all to themselves, or simply _gone_. And while Rose was hardly the history fanatic that Sorey was, she knew that the Celestial Record held a _lot_ of historical and cultural importance, even if a lot of it was just fairy tales. For someone to try and take away something like that could only mean that there was something sinister afoot. If only she could figure out _what_...

No. Whatever it was, she couldn't let that happen. The Windriders may have had their names tarnished, but the Scattered Bones were still here to protect the city, and that was precisely what she would do. Rose shook the dark feelings from her mind and she stood upright. "We can investigate on this some more when we're all rested up. For now, let's figure out who all these books belong to and get 'em back home. Rosh, I want you and Eguille to mind the shop for the rest of the evening and tomorrow. Felice, Talfryn, you'll be returning these books back to where they came from. I'll be doing some of my own investigating. If anyone finds out anything, let the rest of us know as soon as possible."

Rose's resolve was contagious as always, and the meeting ended almost as quickly as it began. It was getting late, so Rose opted to head on up to her room, firmly closing the door behind her and flopping onto her bed. She let out a groan of frustration; she'd hoped whatever this mess was turned out to be a weird anomaly, but of all things, it ended up being bigger than anyone thought. She briefly considered skipping her outing with Sorey in favor of investigating, but considering his connection with the library, maybe she could get some leads out of him via cleverly-guided seemingly-casual conversation. The break would help keep her nerves intact, too, despite the presence of Sorey's invisible companion.

As though summoned by her passing feeling of paranoia, a breeze blew through her room. Rose shivered, sitting up and glancing at the window. Still open, no matter how many times she closed it. Maybe the lock was broken? Nonetheless, she stood up and shut it again. No sooner than she sat back down did she hear a click as it nudged open once more. Rose glared at the window. "Fine," she grumbled. "Stay open, see if I care!"

Another breeze blew through, as though mocking her. She ignored it, opening up her laptop. She really needed to get her mind off of this right now..

 _ **knightofladylake has logged in.**_  
 **mabocurrybuns** : FINALLY  
 **mabocurrybuns** : i swear ur never on whenever i wanna talk to u!  
 **knightofladylake** : My apologies, Rose. Preparing for the festival has kept me very occupied.  
 **knightofladylake** : You seem to be missing quite often lately, as well. Is the shop getting busy?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : lol u have NO IDEA  
 **mabocurrybuns** : i guess u cant meet up with me and sorey and mikleo tomorrow then huh?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : were gonna go to the mall and hang out  
 **knightofladylake** : I'm afraid I can't. With the Sacred Blade Festival this close, my hands are tied.  
 **knightofladylake** : Sorey is stopping by tomorrow to lend me his copy of the Celestial Record, though. Perhaps you could come with him?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : dont u have a copy of that old book tho?  
 **knightofladylake** : Yes, but it seems to have gone missing. I must have misplaced it.  
 **knightofladylake** : I sent Miranda to fetch a copy from the library, but all of them have already been rented out, it seems.  
 **knightofladylake** : In addition, none of the bookstores seemed to have a copy, either...  
 **knightofladylake** : ...Rose? Are you still there?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : sry i got distracted  
 **mabocurrybuns** : that really sux tho :((( i hope u find ur copy soon  
 **mabocurrybuns** : i mean i dont care abt all that history stuff but i kno how important it is to u  
 **knightofladylake** : Thank you, Rose.  
 **mabocurrybuns** : but yeah ill swing by w sorey and mikleo  
 **mabocurrybuns** : even tho he still gives me the CREEPS  
 **mabocurrybuns** : hes not that bad i guess  
 **knightofladylake** : Sorey mentioned that Mikleo is the only seraph in Ladylake. He hasn't seen or met any others.  
 **mabocurrybuns** : GOOD  
 **mabocurrybuns** : can u IMAGINE how creepy it would be if there were MORE?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : like  
 **mabocurrybuns** : there could be one standin in my room RIGHT NOW and i wouldnt kno bc i cant see them or anything  
 **mabocurrybuns** : nooooot a fan of having more of them around tbh  
 **knightofladylake** : I can't imagine it would be all THAT bad...  
 **knightofladylake** : I know some local legends seem to portray them as troublemakers, but Mikleo has been nothing but kind-hearted to all of us.  
 **knightofladylake** : There's still a lot about Seraphim that we don't know. A lot of it has been lost to history.  
 **knightofladylake** : The only things we really have to go on are the old legends that speak of their great power and benevolence, and how they used to fight alongside the Shepherd.  
 **mabocurrybuns** : thats what the festival is all about right?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : that old ceremony thing where the shepherd would draw the sacred blade and stuff?  
 **knightofladylake** : Yes.  
 **knightofladylake** : I didn't know you had developed an interest in local folklore, Rose.  
 **mabocurrybuns** : lol nah  
 **mabocurrybuns** : sorey never shuts up abt it so if i know anything its because of him and mikleo  
 **mabocurrybuns** : anyway imma go 2 bed im SUUUUPER tired from today  
 **knightofladylake** : I think I will head off as well. I'll see you tomorrow, Rose.  
 **knightofladylake** : Good night!  
 **mabocurrybuns** : night alisha!  
 ** _mabocurrybuns has logged off._**  
 ** _knightofladylake has logged off._**

* * *

 _ **Aegis has logged in.**_  
 **Aegis** : Good evening, Mikleo. Shouldn't you be in bed at this hour?  
 **twin-flow** : You again?!  
 **Aegis** : Me again.  
 **twin-flow** : What do you want?  
 **Aegis** : Just checking in. As usual.  
 **twin-flow** : You're really starting to annoy me.  
 **Aegis** : I know. But this is what you get for making stupid decisions.  
 **twin-flow** : What are you talking about?  
 **Aegis** : You would know what I was talking about if you listened to me in the first place.  
 **Aegis** : Instead, here you are, acting like I'm some kind of creeper when I'm just trying to help you.  
 **twin-flow** : That's because you've done nothing but act dubious from day one.  
 **twin-flow** : You keep messaging me and saying you're just checking on me, you know WAY too much about me and Sorey, and you don't even bother telling me anything about yourself!  
 **twin-flow** : How is that NOT supposed to be suspicious?!  
 **Aegis** : It's only suspicious you let it be suspicious.  
 **Aegis** : I don't even want to be contacting you. Not like this, anyway.  
 **Aegis** : But I don't have much of a choice. You can't exactly use a phone, can you?  
 **Aegis** : A seraph's voice wouldn't go through.  
 **twin-flow** : How do you even know I'm a seraph? Most people don't even think they're real!  
 **Aegis** : That's a shame. Because seraphim ARE real. VERY real.  
 **Aegis** : More real than a lot of people think.  
 **twin-flow** : What are you getting at?  
 **Aegis** : Is it not obvious yet? My bad. I wasn't aware I had to spell everything out for you.  
 **Aegis** : When are you going to use your brain?  
 **twin-flow** : When are YOU going to give me any straight answers?  
 **Aegis** : Sorry. This is the way it has to be.  
 **Aegis** : Don't worry, though. You'll figure it all out eventually.  
 **Aegis** : Again.  
 **Aegis** : Anyway, be careful tomorrow. The city's a dangerous place, you know.  
 **twin-flow** : You don't have to warn me. I'm not a little kid.  
 **Aegis** : Could have fooled me.  
 **twin-flow** : If you really are concerned, you've sure got a funny way of showing it!  
 **twin-flow** : Who are you, Aegis?!  
 **Aegis** : I've told you a million times. I'm someone who's TRYING to look after you.  
 **Aegis** : You ungrateful brat.  
 **twin-flow** : I can handle myself just fine.  
 **Aegis** : And what about Sorey? How long do you think you can keep him safe?  
 **twin-flow** : Leave Sorey OUT OF THIS!  
 **Aegis** : Too late. He's already a part of this. A huge part.  
 **Aegis** : Always has been. Always will be.  
 **twin-flow** : What?  
 **twin-flow** : What do you mean, he's already a part of this?!  
 **twin-flow** : What's going on?!  
 **Aegis** : Don't bother asking me. I'm not going to explain that, either.  
 **Aegis** : Sleep tight. Don't let the hellions bite.  
 _ **Aegis has logged off.**_


	5. Warning Signs

_Sweeping cliffs, towering mountains. The rush of rivers, the dancing of flames. Roaring winds and rumbling earth. He saw them. Heard them. Felt them._ Was _them._

 _The grass beneath him swayed as the sun rose...or was it setting?...on the horizon. It was beautiful, quite possibly the most majestic thing he'd seen. And yet he could feel how wrought it was with chaos and danger. Still and throbbing all at once. He stood without any companions at his side. No one to gaze upon this with him, no one with which to share this experience._

 _And yet he felt something within. Deep in his heart, he could not feel alone. There was a presence with him, one he did not know, and yet it felt all too familiar. He felt a strength he could barely contain, pulsing through every fiber of his being. It was foreign to him, it didn't belong to him. It threatened to burst out of him at any moment, as though one wrong move could cause it to destroy him from the inside out. And yet he knew he was the only one with the strength to hold it. But more than that...he was_ meant _for it. It remained inside him, coiled and ready to be unleashed at the slightest command. It pulsed with a life of its own, yet it was as though it was hardly separate from his own being._

 _Voices from both within and without. They called his name. They rallied him forth. They guided his hand. They watched over him. They protected_ him _just as much as he protected_ them _._

 _He lifted his hand, as though reaching for something in the sky. On it was a glove, adorned with a feathered bracelet and the familiar emblem of the Shepherd that the legend spoke of. (But why was he wearing it?)_

 _The emblem flared, burning but not scorching. The dark clouds in the sky cleared, revealing clear blue skies and sparkling stars. But no sooner than he began to appreciate the beauty of the night sky did the dark clouds swarm back in, defying his command (wait,_ his _...?) for them to clear. And they came back stronger and darker. The air became thick and difficult to breathe, and a weight pressed in on him from all sides. He heard the screams of terrified innocents, soon drowned out by the howling of angered, bloodthirsty beasts. It began as a dull rumble, growing into a fierce screech. It deafened him, as the darkness blinded him. Before he could think to fight back, his power was rapidly sapped away, leaving him with barely the strength to stand. His lungs screamed for clean air, his skin burned with pain. And then the ground split open and he fell, swallowed up by the rapidly-growing chasm._

Sorey's eyes snapped open, and he woke with a start. It took him a moment to realize he'd been gasping for breath, but he gradually calmed, his breath slowing and his racing heart calming.

Right. It was just a dream.

He flopped back onto his bed, the springs in the mattress squeaking in protest as he stared at the ceiling. He'd been having some strange dreams as of late. Given how they seemed to get worse and worse, though, maybe "nightmare" would be a better term for them. Stranger still was just how real they all felt, like they were hardly dreams at all. This one in particular was leagues worse than the others.

Maybe Mikleo was right. Maybe he was just worn out from all the long days at work and late nights reading. Too many times he'd been scolded by the young water seraph for getting only five hours of sleep instead of the usual seven or eight that he'd be satisfied with. It was too late in the night to hope that a good cup of chamomile tea would calm him down, though. He'd just have to hope that a more restful sleep would come his way.

* * *

The next morning found Sorey still mentally tired, but at least he'd managed to get a little sleep. Mikleo must have noticed that the night hadn't gone well, because the breakfast he'd made morning was especially comforting despite not being particularly fancy. Even with what little they had to work with, Mikleo had always found ways to get creative on special occasions. Unfortunately, he'd insisted that Sorey wait before fixing him any ice cream ("No matter how many times you ask me, Sorey, the answer's still no!" He'd said, though he promised to make some later.). Before long, though, they were headed out the door.

It was a real shame that Alisha's copy of the Celestial Record had gone missing; she loved that book almost as much as Sorey did. Granted, it wasn't the only reason Sorey kept it with him at all times. Zenrus - the seraph that had raised him and Mikleo when they still lived in Elysia - had instructed him to keep it safe no matter what. He trusted Alisha, though; she _had_ been the one to help him settle into life around other humans, after all. The tall buildings and technology had all been incredibly foreign to them, let alone the general way of life. Sorey had no concept of money or jobs or anything of the sort, and it was only by Alisha's good will that he was able to get settled as quickly and as easily as he did. He'd barely been able to properly pay her back for it all, though fortunately she was quite content just to visit him every so often. Alisha wouldn't outright admit it, but she could get quite stressed and tired with all the pressure she put up with on a daily basis. Sorey was more than eager to help her relax a little and be herself instead of tending to princess-related duties and chores all the time.

"I know you're eager to see her," Mikleo said, "But is it really a safe idea to cut through this alley?"

"It'll be fine!" Sorey replied, a bright smile on his face. "This is a pretty safe part of town, right?"

Mikleo wasn't convinced. "A creepy alley is still a creepy alley no matter where it is," he commented, but followed Sorey anyway.

The alley was a bit dark, shadowed by the tall buildings on either side of it. Each step that the two of them took echoed off the walls, the dirt under their shoes crunching against the concrete. The air felt a bit stale, and Sorey was already regretting taking this uncomfortable path, despite how much time he'd save. Still, it wasn't for long, they were already halfway through after a few seconds of walking.

As they passed by a dumpster, Mikleo let out a quiet grunt in pain, steadying himself on Sorey with one hand as the other clutched his chest. Alarmed, Sorey turned to his seraph companion and grasped his shoulders. "Mikleo?"

The young water seraph shook his head. "I-I'm fine," he said, straightening again. "But something doesn't feel right. We shouldn't stick around here."

Sorey was just about to ask Mikleo to explain what he meant when a voice reached his ears from far above him.

"Oh? It looks like I missed one..."

A shadow passed over their heads, and a burst of blue flame exploded in front of them, sending them flying backward. The shadow landed amidst the smoke and kicked up dust, standing slowly and leering at them. Sorey scrambled to his feet, holding onto Mikleo's arm to help him up as well. As the dark clouds cleared, their attacker's form became clear: a man dressed in a dark jacket and pants, outfitted with running boots and gloves that had made way for long claws that had sliced through the leather. He should have been human, but even aside from the claws, there was something...off. The narrowed eyes, the long ears, the fangs. The long ponytail, that looked all too reminiscent of a fox's tail. His posture, where he looked ready to leap upon them at any given second.

"I'd ask you to hand over that book of yours," the man growled, "But it seems you've brought me a lovely side dish as well."

"Side dish?" Sorey echoed, taking a wary step back. He didn't like where this was going. Mikleo was right; they needed to leave. _Now._

The man grinned. "Did I stutter? _I said I'm going to eat you!"_

There was barely any time to move when the man lunged at them, clawed hands slashing at Sorey and missing by inches. In a flash of light, Mikleo summoned his staff and begun channeling a seraphic arte. Sorey grabbed the nearest object in reach - a wooden plank with a nail in the end of it - and immediately placed himself between their attacker and his companion. He really hoped he wouldn't have to use the weapon.

"Is that the best you can do?" The man taunted. "A _stick?_ That sort of thing is only good for _kindling!"_

As if to punctuate his words, blue flames roared to life in his hands. He had all of a split second to process it before they were flung through the air towards him, engulfing his weapon even as he held it up to protect himself. As his attacker lunged, Sorey swung the flaming plank at him with all the strength he could muster, only to miss by inches as the man barreled into Mikleo, pummeling him and sending him skidding down the alley. His claws made their way to Sorey next, striking at his weapon and reducing the already-brittle wood to cinders.

"Hand over the book," the fox-man snarled, "And _maybe_ I won't kill you!"

The ferocity and absurdity of the demand was enough to cause Sorey's thoughts to screech to a halt. All of this just for a book? But why?

Sorey remembered a few choice words that Zenrus had told him: _"Never let that book out of your sight. It is a precious artifact, and it will become an invaluable tool to you in the future."_

What was so special about the Celestial Record? There were other copies of it, certainly; his was hardly all that special aside from his own sentimental reasons. Even without his guardian's advice, such a thing was too precious to him to just hand over on some violent stranger's demand. Sorey took a step back towards Mikleo, his grip tightening around the Celestial Record. "I'm sorry," He said, kind words betraying his fierce expression, "But I can't let you have this."

He expected the man to get angry, but instead he laughed. "Very _well_. I was worried this wasn't going to be any fun, anyway!"

The flames surged in the man's hand, burning bigger and darker than before as he raced forward, claws extended and fangs bared in a manic grin. With his weapon gone and Mikleo down for the count, Sorey was helpless. He raised his arms in a panic, bracing himself for the flames' impact.

It never came.

An odd whistling sound rang out as a whip lashed through the air, latching onto the man's arm and yanking him back. He slammed into the ground, letting out a screech of protest. As he scrambled to his feet, he snarled like a cornered beast, thrashing in vain to free his arm.

Sorey traced the line that entangled his attacker to a tall, muscular man standing at the other end of the alley, garbed in a pair of slacks, boots, little else. On his head was a black top hat, adorned with large brass medallions. Long silver hair billowed in the wind - how was there wind in an alleyway? - and he gazed at the fox-man with a wide grin.

"So _that's_ where you ran off to," the tall man remarked. "Should've figured we'd all end up in the same place."

He jerked the line, slamming the Sorey's assailant into the ground again before releasing him, allowing the whip to retract back to his wrist. The object at the end vanished beneath one of the stranger's long leather wrist straps before Sorey could see what it was.

"Who are you?!" the fox-man screeched.

The man gestured broadly, a taunting smirk on his face. "What's wrong, Lunarre? Don't remember me?"

Lunarre sneered, clearly in a humorless mood. "I don't know what you're talking about," he growled, a flame appearing in his hands, "But you'll make just as good a snack as these two will!"

Blue flames shot out towards the stranger, but they never reached him. In a single, swift motion, he _slashed_ the flames out of the air with the same whip-like lines that retreated back to his wrists just as quickly as they had appeared. It was only then, watching the battle from the sidelines, did Sorey notice an important detail about the stranger that he'd missed before: the man's hair wasn't just silver. It was tipped in green. People dying the tips of their hair wasn't uncommon, especially in Ladylake, but that was mostly something that the local youth would do. Either this man was one of the more unusual ones following the fad, or maybe he...

His thoughts were broken by the the feeling of someone grabbing his shoulder. Mikleo was next to him, scuffed up and dirty but otherwise unharmed. "Are you okay?!" The young water seraph asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Sorey pushed himself to his feet. He had a few bruises, for sure, but nothing was broken or permanently damaged.

No sooner than he'd gained his footing did the stranger slide in front of them, one of the lines attached to his wrists lowering to reveal what had been attached to the end: a crystalline pendulum of sorts. As it swayed back and forth, the wind stirred. "I'll handle this, Sorey! Get going!"

Sorey's jaw dropped. "How do you know my-"

The man lashed out with his pendulum and the wind surged, forming an enormous set of green jaws that smashed down on Lunarre before he could move. An inhuman screech of pain tore out of his throat as he crumbled to the ground, only to rise again moments later. Sorey could hardly believe it; that _had_ to be a seraphic arte. Which could only mean...

 _This man...he's a seraph?!_

The strange man turned to glare at them from the corner of his eye. "You got fluff in your ears or something? I said _RUN!"_

They didn't need to be told twice. Sorey and Mikleo took off down the alleyway, the sounds of battle quickly fading behind them.

* * *

Rose felt like she was being watched.

Not that that was any different from how things had been lately. In fact, she'd never really felt this until earlier in the week, but refrained from telling the others. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to worry them, but rather she simply wasn't bothered by it. Now, things were different. It was less of a subtle feeling and more of a chill up her spine. She did her best to ignore it; she was still armed by way of concealed daggers (firearms were much easier to conceal, but they were too expensive, too rare, and hardly reliable in comparison) in case things got dangerous. Even then, Rose doubted she'd need to use more than her fists to fix any problem that came her way. Ladylake was relatively safe, after all; the Scattered Bones kept crime well under control and did much to discourage unlawful activities.

Even though they usually met in the food court, Rose had opted to wait just outside first. Sorey was stopping by Alisha's place on the way to drop off something, so he was going to be a little late. But she hardly expected him to be quite _this_ late. It, and the strangely shifting wind, only added to the sense of unease that clouded her mind. An easy reassurance for her was the fact that Sorey would always text her in case anything came up, and he had yet to do so. Maybe he just ran into some traffic on the way.

In the meantime, Rose busied herself with watching a small group of stray dogs crowded around one of the trees in the mall's front plaza. They were a cute bunch, if a bit odd with the way they always had a blank space right in the middle of their little crowd. Sometimes, the dogs would follow her around from a distance, tails wagging and ears perked. Although she tried to ignore them, every so often Rose couldn't help but toss them a cookie every so often. They were remarkably well-behaved and never caused any trouble; if it weren't for how busy she was with both the Scattered Bones business and the shop, she'd adopt all five of them.

Rose was just standing up to stretch her legs when one of the canines - a Falkewin Terrier - began barking and growling, its fur standing on end and its ears flattened against its skull. He was the smallest of the lot (and arguably the cutest), but it sure looked angry, and its barks were loud enough to turn heads all around the plaza. The other dogs soon joined, though opting to snarl and growl rather than bark nearly as often.

It didn't take long for Rose to realize just what had the dogs so upset, as the sound of shattering glass could be heard behind her. A tall, somewhat muscular man went flying through a restaurant window, landing on the ground outside with a thud. Leaping through the window after him was another, smaller man. He looked especially enraged, his teeth bared in a snarl. Rose was in a ready stance almost right away, one hand reaching for her phone to send a signal to the patrols. What the hell was going on here?!

But there was something in the man's eyes, she realized when she got a good look at him. An almost feral anger had taken root in him. Something about that man simply wasn't natural.

Two more men followed the assailant, intent on continuing to harass the victim they'd just thrown through the glass. Rose swore under her breath, charging forward. Things were moving too quickly; she'd just have to deal with this herself. Security was no doubt nearby, and if she could make enough of a mess, they'd pick up on it and alert the Scattered Bones for her. She took a deep breath and shouted as loud as she could. " _Hey!_ Leave him alone!"

It worked...at first. The three men paused, raising their gaze at an eerily slow pace to meet Rose. Other bystanders were scattering, a few already dialing on their phones, and others frantically chatting amongst themselves ("Where are the police?" "Forget the police, where are the Scattered Bones?!"). What was important was that they were clearing the area and getting away from danger. That would leave Rose with plenty of room to deal with these creeps and hold out until either the authorities or the local vigilante justice took over from there.

A deep, guttural growl emerged from one of the men's throats, and he lunged forward. Rose leapt out of the way, rebounding off of another one of the trees to jump back towards the man and deliver a swift kick in the side. The wind began to pick up, propelling her forward just quickly enough to send the man tumbling to the ground. She allowed herself a triumphant grin, but quickly found that such a simple tactic wasn't enough. The other two men, having forgotten their previous victim, charged forward. Their fingers were coiled and flexed like claws, their teeth bared like they were savage beasts. Their eyes flared in rage, and they screamed words that Rose didn't dare try to comprehend while trying to defend herself. Their meanings were lost on her either way; she had no intention of talking with these guys one way or another if they were just going to lash out at her like that.

And lashing they were, trying to strike at her like their hands were claws, punch at her or kick her. Rose effortlessly dodged it all, the wind at her back like it always was, and she began to grit her teeth in frustration. _Damn it, where's security?! They should've been here by now!_

That single moment of frustration, that sliver of a moment for Rose to lose focus was all it took. One of the men crouched down on all fours and charged at her like some kind of beast, ramming into her and knocking her off balance. While Rose easily managed to right herself, she wasn't fast enough to prevent him from getting close. The crazed attacker struck her on the side, but where Rose was expecting to be punched, she felt a sharp pain dig into her skin, followed by a searing sensation that reached all the way through to her ribs. She let out a shocked cry of pain and scampered back, mustering all of her willpower not to clutch at the wound.

It was only when Rose felt something warm and wet dripping down her side that she actually managed to spare a glance. Her clothing had been sliced through, and there was blood seeping from the claw-like tears in her skin. A pulse of fear rippled through her. She was no stranger to injuries, but this was unlike anything she'd dealt with. These were ordinary, unarmed men. No way in _hell_ could fingernails rip through fabric and flesh like that.

There was a flash of green and black out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly, the man that had clawed at her was being thrown through the air, smashing into one of the pillars in front of the restaurant and crumbling to the ground. It should have at least been enough to knock him out, but the man was already beginning to struggle to his feet. As the other two made their approach, an intense burst of wind tore through the plaza, flinging them back like rag dolls.

Rose stared in shock at the scene before her; her attackers were curled up on the ground hissing in pain while bystanders stared in astonishment, slowly backing away. But whatever the hell had just happened wasn't finished. An X-shaped pattern appeared on the ground, glowing ominously for moments before an intense burst of wind surged from beneath it, flinging the men into the air one more time before something jerked two of them out of the air and slammed them into the ground one more time. The crazed strangers lay on the ground, still breathing, but unconscious.

The silence that followed was almost deafening, and the sounds of security arriving on the scene were all but muffled in her ears. Rose finally permitted one hand to clutch her side, ignoring the sticky wet feeling of blood oozing between her fingers as she spun on her heels and ran, the stray dogs following her after a moment of staring. The wind surged behind her, speeding her along, and she'd never been so thankful for it in her life. There was no way she was sticking around the plaza after a scene like that. She could fill in Sorey and Mikleo later. Right now, she needed to report this to the others. And, most importantly, she needed help.


	6. Uncertainty

_Great power almost always comes at great sacrifice. This is true among both humans and seraphim. The Shepherd is able to quell hellions and wield magnificent powers, at the cost of being alone and bearing heavy burdens that not even the most stalwart of companions can aid him with. Among Seraphim in particular is the Oath. To gain incredible power, the seraph must first swear something away. Breaking the oath means losing that power. Though the most notable ability gained this way is the power of purification and potent illusory artes, this is far from the only kind of power that can be gained this way._

 _Regrettably, my knowledge on the topic is not as thorough as I would like it to be. It has been said, in the past, that an oath is more trouble than it is worth. That discovering one's own true strength is a far more viable path than taking an oath to achieve the same. Even so, there are some things that one's own natural strength alone cannot solve, and so one is forced to take such extreme measures..._

* * *

It had taken some time for them to catch their breath. They hadn't stopped running until they were merely a block or two away from Alisha's manor, and only then did they dare to slow down. Sorey was bracing himself on a light post nearby, while Mikleo somehow managed to remain upright. Neither of them said a word, their lungs screaming for air and their legs demanding rest from their mad dash across town. The sounds of roaring flames and whip-cracks and swirling winds still resounded in Sorey's ears, even though they were well out of danger.

"That man that saved us," Sorey said, finally standing upright again. "He was definitely using seraphic artes."

"Guess I'm not the only seraph in Ladylake after all," Mikleo noted.

"How come we've never seen him before?"

"Well, Ladylake's a pretty big city. Besides, we haven't even been here for that long." Mikleo cast a glance at Sorey. "All of which makes it even stranger that he knew your name."

It _was_ strange. Sorey wasn't exactly a celebrity in Ladylake, so it wasn't very likely that the seraph would've heard about him from anyone other than Rose and Alisha. He hadn't ever been around the library, either. While it was totally possible that the strange seraph could have found out about him through some kind of coincidence, Sorey couldn't help but feel that there was something else at work. Especially considering the fact that he also knew the strange fox-man that had attacked them. If he ever saw that seraph again, he'd certainly have to thank him for saving his life. Hopefully they wouldn't need that kind of help again...

Sorey's thoughts were broken by a familiar beeping from his pocket. Fishing out his phone, he unlocked it as Mikleo peered over at him. "What is it?"

"It's a text from Rose," Sorey said. "I bet she's wondering where we are..."

But when he opened it, he found a different message awaiting them.

 _\- - Can't make it today. Something came up._

Mikleo, reading the text over Sorey's shoulder, gave a thoughtful hum, but said nothing. Sorey tapped out a quick response before tucking his phone back into his pocket:

 _\- - ok, i'll let alisha know. see you around!_

The rest of the walk to Alisha's manor was quiet, both boys exhausted and with a lot of food for thought. Alisha answering their knock at the front door was perhaps the most welcoming thing they'd seen all day, and Sorey gave her the brightest smile he could manage. "Hey, Alisha!"

The young princess smiled in return. "Sorey! It's good to see you!" She opened her mouth to continue, but abruptly paused to look around expectantly. "Where's Rose?"

"She couldn't make it today," Sorey said, offering an apologetic grin on the absent merchant's behalf. "She said something came up."

"I see..." Alisha's expression fell for a moment, veiled in disappointment, before she shook her head. "I guess it can't be helped. She probably has her own preparations to tend to."

Alisha let them inside (waiting for Sorey's cue to know when Mikleo was inside) and they made their way to a table where Alisha had prepared some tea. It did a lot to calm their nerves, and Sorey could see Mikleo relaxing a little after seeming oddly tense. Despite living in a relatively fancy manor, and especially being Ladylake's princess, Alisha had always been notably humble and welcoming. She was among the first few people that Sorey had met after venturing into Ladylake with Mikleo months ago, and she had provided him with a lot of help finding a job and getting settled in the city. Despite Mikleo's initial protests (born primarily out of worry for Sorey), they'd all grown to be fast friends, despite the fact that Sorey was the only one that could see Mikleo.

Sorey set down his cup and produced the Celestial Record, holding it out to Alisha. "Here you go."

Alisha gently took the book from Sorey's hands, her eyes widening as she inspected the cover. "This is an incredibly old copy, Sorey!"

He blinked in surprise. "It is?" Sorey asked. He knew it was a rather old book, but it had been kept so well, its apparent age had not been obvious to him. He'd seen plenty of old books in the library, some on the verge of falling apart due to misuse, but he'd never put the Celestial Record on any of those levels.

"Yes, it is!" Alisha replied. "I haven't seen this edition printed anywhere! Where did you get it?"

Sorey shrugged. "I've had it ever since I was a little kid. Gramps made sure I took really good care of it."

With an eager and curious smile, Alisha wasted no time in carefully opening the cover of the book and flipping through the pages. After the first few, however, she began to slow down, her smile fading into a frown, eyebrows furrowing as she stared closely at the book as though the book were some foreign object to her. Sorey exchanged glances with Mikleo - who looked just as confused as he was - before he looked back to the princess and tilted his head in concern. "Is something wrong, Alisha?"

Alisha glanced up, a vague look of disappointment on her face. "Sorey...you didn't write your own entries in this, did you?"

Sorey's thoughts screeched to a halt, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Mikleo's head jerk up in surprise along with him. "Huh?"

"I've read the Celestial Record so much, I've almost memorized several of the passages. But some of the maps in your copy are different." She looked back down at the Celestial Record, flipping through it slowly once again. "And there are many pages with notes written in them."

"But those markings were always there," Mikleo said, staring in astonishment. "If they were written instead of printed, then one of the previous owners had to have written in it."

"It wasn't me or Mikleo," Sorey explained. "Our copy's always been like that. Do those notes not exist in more modern editions?"

The princess shook her head, baffled. "No, not at all. There even seems to be a few extra pages in your copy, Sorey."

"Extra pages?" Mikleo echoed, eyes wide as saucers.

Sorey was just as stunned. He'd always assumed that the extra entries written in the back of the Celestial Record were well-known to most who read the Celestial Record. No wonder he'd gotten so many strange looks when he referenced a few minutia to some library patrons. All of those notes, the corrected maps, the new entries...he'd assumed they'd just been well-preserved from the original version. "Then all those entries about the Shepherd's journey and discoveries..."

Both Mikleo and Sorey finished the statement at the same time. "...must've been written by the previous Shepherd!"

"A copy of the Celestial Record owned by a previous Shepherd..." Alisha was nearly breathless in wonder. "I never imagined I'd ever hold such an incredible relic with my own hands!"

"Where do you think Gramps got it from?" Sorey asked, turning to Mikleo. "Didn't he say something about holding onto it for a really long time?"

Mikleo folded his arms, staring at his tea in thought. "He said that it had been given to him by powerful seraph that once traveled the world," he said, "But he didn't explain much more than that."

"A seraph who traveled the world... Do you think maybe they knew the Shepherd?"

"The one that wrote those entries, you mean? It's possible."

"Do you think maybe he was a friend of Gramps?"

"He must have been. Why else would he entrust him with the Celestial Record?"

"It's also possible that he was-"

Alisha tilted her head. "Um...Sorey?"

Sorey winced apologetically. It was easy to forget that not everyone could see Mikleo. Luckily, Alisha was more understanding of when sudden one-sided conversations like this sprung up. Rose was, too, to an extent; her fear of ghosts tended to put her on edge more than anything. "Sorry, Alisha..."

"It's alright." Gently, Alisha placed the Celestial Record back in Sorey's hands. "Here, I feel like this should stay with you."

"Are you sure...?" Sorey asked, taking the book back. "You don't need to borrow it for the festival preparations?"

"I'm sure," Alisha replied, "But thank you for lending it to me all the same. It means a lot to me."

Sorey beamed happily. "Don't mention it. I'm just happy I could help."

Before any of them could respond or continue, the sudden sound of a tea cup crashing to the table and spilling turned their heads. Mikleo was bracing himself on the arm of the couch with one hand, the other clutching his chest. His eyes were wide, his breathing forced. Alisha cried something out, but Sorey didn't hear it nor did he pay it any attention, his own hands rushing to Mikleo's shoulders to steady him. "Mikleo!"

The young water seraph didn't respond at first, his shoulders trembling. "I...I don't know. I don't feel so good."

"What's going on, Sorey?!" Alisha cried. "What's wrong with Mikleo?!"

"I think he's sick," Sorey replied, shaking his head and standing. He nudged the table out of the way with his knee while he circled around to kneel in front of Mikleo. "I'm not sure why. This has never happened before!"

Alisha called for one of her servants before helping to clear the area around Mikleo, moving the table a little further and handing Sorey one of the linen napkins in place of a washcloth. "I didn't know seraphim _could_ get sick..."

"Me either," Mikleo groaned, leaning onto Sorey. "It's never been this bad..."

"This bad?" Sorey echoed, his heart sinking in dread.

The young seraph shook his head. "I'll be fine, I'm... I probably just need some rest."

Sorey frowned, giving Alisha an apologetic look. "We should probably head home. Mikleo's not feeling well."

Alisha took a hesitant step forward. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'll be fine," Mikleo said, still wincing, "But I don't think we should stick around here for much longer."

Nodding, Sorey turned back to Alisha, meeting her worried gaze with one of his own. "Any chance you could give us a ride, Alisha?"

* * *

"A few _days?!"_ Rose protested.

Talfryn nodded, though he didn't look any happier than Rose. "If you go on patrols in that condition, it'll only take longer to heal up."

"He's right," Felice chimed in. "We know you're worried about what happened out there, but there's a risk that it'll get worse if you don't get enough rest. Of course, it's still your decision..."

Rose let out a groan, slouching over in a huff...and almost immediately regretting it when the stinging pain reminded her of why she was being lectured in the first place. This was no time to be lying around doing practically nothing, but they were right. Rose was the best fighter out of all of them, and the fastest as well, but being the boss also meant she was the most important to keep safe. Going on patrols and potentially fighting other crazy people wasn't the greatest idea with her side all bandaged up. Felice had mentioned that it wasn't as bad as it could be, but it was still deep enough to warrant some extra care. "Fine, you've made your point," she grumbled. "But if anything big happens, I'm _not_ staying in bed. Got it?"

Talfryn shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Can't argue there, Boss."

Eguille nodded in approval before folding his arms. "I'll send out a few extra patrols and have Rosh keep an extra close ear on the police scanners. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect," Rose replied. "If there are any more crazies running around, we need to know before anyone else gets hurt."

Rose had neglected to tell them about the freak accident that had defended her after she'd suffered the slash to her ribs, but it made little difference either way. If it happened again, after all, she'd hear about it before long. It was too strange for her to really put any thought into and make sense of. Sure, those freaks had been pretty banged up, and she didn't want any innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire, but it had also saved her life. The patrols were already going to be careful, anyway. If whatever the hell happened back there happened again, she'd probably get a few more puzzle pieces to this riddle. For now, she'd have to wait and observe.

Her course decided, Rose straightened - carefully - and hopped off the table, placing her hands on her hips. "Alright, that takes care of that. How's the festival prep going?"

The twins seemed happy for the change in subject, if a bit taken aback at first. Rose was never one to linger on things for too long, and she knew it could take them by surprise, even with how used to it they were by now. Sure enough, within moments everyone had moved on along with her. "Everything's ready to go for setup tomorrow," Rosh said. "All we've got left is sorting out who's going to stay here and watch over the store."

"The festival's a week long, right?" Felice piped up. "We can have people rotate out."

Rose grinned. "Good thinking. If we're going to have extra patrols running around, we'll need to make sure we don't wear anyone out."

The decision-making took all of a few minutes, with the twins volunteering to run the booth on day one. Once everything was sorted, Rose retired to her room for the evening, sitting down on her bed and hissing in pain as the wound on her side stung once more. The twins had done a _great_ job patching her up, all things considered, but they were just as clueless as she was when it came to how to deal with the pain. It had abated little since she got home, and her energy was all but spent. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about letting Sorey and Mikleo about her absence; she didn't remember sending them a text, but one glance at her phone told her that apparently she had. One less thing to worry about.

She hadn't bothered turning the lights on when she got to her room; there was enough sunlight filtering in through the window. As much as she'd like to get some rest, she had one more thing to take care of. She glanced over at her laptop to see an IM window flashing. Noticing the screen name, she rolled her eyes. "Them _again_ ," she grumbled, turning the screen to face her and glowering at the screen like it was the cause of her day's problems. She had planned on contacting them anyway, sure, but it never stopped things from being irritating.

 _ **Aegis has logged in.  
**_ **Aegis** : hey rose ;) you holding up alright?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : where the hell have u been?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : not that i mind having some peace and quiet 4 once  
 **Aegis** : whoa, geez. i leave for two days and this is how you greet me when i come back? harsh.  
 **mabocurrybuns** : look ive had a REALLY bad day okay  
 **Aegis** : yeah, i can tell  
 **Aegis** : no need to be so snippy  
 **mabocurrybuns** : ill snip at u as much as i want  
 **mabocurrybuns** : im only letting u off easy because sometimes u ACTUALLY tell me something useful!  
 **mabocurrybuns** : which is y im actually a LITTLE happy to see u rn  
 **Aegis** : whooaaaa, rose is actually happy to see me for a change!  
 **mabocurrybuns** : shut uuuup  
 **mabocurrybuns** : im not here to flatter u, im here to ask you some stuff  
 **Aegis** : alright, ask away. Aegis is here to help you out ;)  
 **mabocurrybuns** : u got any leads on crazy people?  
 **Aegis** : crazy people huh?  
 **Aegis** : you're gonna have to give me a little more to go off of than that  
 **mabocurrybuns** : i was waiting to meet some friends of mine at the mall when a bunch of freaky guys burst thru a window and started attacking me  
 **mabocurrybuns** : well i mean they were beating up this other guy but then they came after me  
 **mabocurrybuns** : i was hoping to just keep them distracted until help showed up but then things got REALLY freaky  
 **Aegis** : freaky how?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : one of them got down on all fours and charged at me  
 **mabocurrybuns** : and now ive got CLAW MARKS on me and im stuck at home all bandaged up and it still won't stop hurting  
 **mabocurrybuns** : idk what their deal was but they were just acting totally crazy  
 **mabocurrybuns** : like they werent even human  
 **Aegis** : you might be more right than you think.  
 **mabocurrybuns** : what?  
 **Aegis** : rose, listen.  
 **Aegis** : you're VERY lucky you made it out of that mess alive. those people that attacked you definitely weren't normal people  
 **Aegis** : they're the same as lunarre  
 **mabocurrybuns** : wtf is that supposed to mean?  
 **Aegis** : lets just say that some fairy tales are more than just fairy tales.  
 **mabocurrybuns** : i already know about the seraphim ok? and those people WERENT seraphim  
 **Aegis** : sounds like someone needs to brush up on her folklore ;) i wasn't talking about seraphim  
 **Aegis** : anyway, i'd be careful if i were you  
 **Aegis** : there might be more creeps like that lurking around the city  
 **Aegis** : and something tells me things are gonna get worse  
 **mabocurrybuns** : fiiine i'll watch my back  
 **mabocurrybuns** : happy?  
 **Aegis** : yyyup. :)  
 **Aegis** : i know you can take care of yourself, rose. you're the leader of the scattered bones, after all.  
 **mabocurrybuns** : and ur the most annoying source of intel ive ever had to deal with  
 **Aegis** : hey, at least i'm on your side, right?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : thats probably the only thing u have going for urself right now  
 **mabocurrybuns** : so u better watch it, aegis  
 **Aegis** : yeah, yeah, i know.  
 **Aegis** : anyway i gotta head off. you've had a pretty long day and you're gonna need the rest for what's to come.  
 **mabocurrybuns** : before u go, i wanna ask u one more thing  
 **Aegis** : sure. can't guarantee any answers, though. :p  
 **mabocurrybuns** : how long have u been in the city?  
 **Aegis** : let's just say i've been hanging around for a long, long time  
 **mabocurrybuns** : UUUUGGGHHHHH when r u ever gonna stop being so vague?  
 **Aegis** : sorry, rose. i'd hate to spoil the surprise.  
 **Aegis** : but don't worry, i'll fill you in when the time is right. ;) i promise.  
 **Aegis** : later!  
 _ **Aegis has logged out.**_

"What a pain in the ass," Rose grumbled. Her window creaked as a breeze blew past, almost as though punctuating her words. Even so, it did little to help her mood. With a grunt, Rose forced herself to stand up and she grasped the handle of the window, slamming it shut. She closed the curtains, shut her laptop and flopped onto her bed, letting out an angry huff. It wasn't even evening and she was exhausted. Naps could fix anything, sure, but today was emotionally beyond saving. Without bothering to even pull the blankets over her, Rose lay still on her bed. Just get some sleep, she told herself, and she'd be right as rain, like she always was.

An hour later, though, Rose was _still_ awake, the dull pain in her side where the man attacked her still throbbing. She grimaced, rolling over onto her side and curling up in protest. How was she supposed to sleep if it hurt this badly? Even with the constant stinging in her side keeping her awake, though, her energy was quickly running out. If she didn't fall asleep the natural way, eventually her exhaustion was going to do the job for her. For now, though, she couldn't even manage to shut her eyes, not even as her room began to get blurrier and blurrier.

Maybe it was a trick of the light, or lack thereof. Maybe it was her exhaustion and stress making her see things. But after another failed attempt to shut her eyes and sleep failed, something in her room shifted, and she could just barely make out a shadowy figure sitting next to her. At first, she thought it was Eguile, but something wasn't right. She may have been tired, but she knew she didn't hear anyone walk in. She squinted just a little, still unable to focus, but this time able to make out a few more details about the silhouette next to her: he was tall, with shaggy hair covering his face, making it impossible to see any features in the low light. She was sure she'd never seen him before. He wasn't anyone who worked at the store, nor was he any of the store's frequent customers. More importantly, he hadn't been sitting there a few seconds ago. All signs pointed to either a hallucination, or some sort of ghost. And yet...

At the edges of her vision, she caught something moving. There was some kind of winged pendant, dangling from a string that the man had wrapped around one of his fingers. It swayed gently back and forth, stirring and gathering the air around it with each swing. Having already expended enough of her remaining energy wondering what the hell was going on, let alone trying to decide whether or not any of this was real or just some kind of fever dream, Rose squeezed her eyes shut and shifted in some vain effort to get more comfortable.

Moments passed, bringing with them silence broken only by the subtle shifting of the air. A hand settled softly onto her shoulder, warmth blossoming outward from it and melting away a stiffness she'd forgotten she was feeling. Her soreness began to fade, and the searing pain quickly became a distant memory. Her breathing went from shallow to full again, sweet air filling her lungs. Her exhaustion, however, remained. Though she could have sworn she heard a quiet, deep voice speaking to her, she couldn't make out any coherent words. Before long, her mind finally drifted into to sleep's embrace.

* * *

Seraphim didn't need food or sleep like humans did, but it helped all the same. Sorey managed a decent tray of butter cookies despite his mediocre ability to cook, all of which Mikleo eagerly nibbled away at before being gently carried off to bed. Sorey was too overcome with worry to sleep, so he remained awake even after tucking Mikleo into bed, holding the seraph's hand in his own. He stared worriedly and quietly at Mikleo's sleeping form, rubbing his thumb over his skin absently.

Alisha had summoned them a private coach right away and rode with them until they made it home, with her mentor Maltran minding the festival preparations in her absence. While Mikleo's condition had improved vastly once they finally made it home, he was still far from fine. Sorey was the more knowledgeable of the two humans about seraphim, and Mikleo knew even more than him, but neither of the boys could discern just what was wrong. Sorey had called off work ahead of time for tomorrow, and if need be he was prepared to miss the first day of the festival in case things got worse.

Hours passed like centuries, and Sorey's eyelids were beginning to droop. Even with Mikleo slowly seeming better, sitting and waiting was really the only thing he knew that he could do, as harsh as it was. Worst case scenario, they'd have to leave Ladylake and head back to Elysia, and get help from the seraphim that Sorey had grown up with. There was no telling where that wind seraph was, or whether or not he'd even survived against the fox-man. With any luck, though, Mikleo would get better and then they wouldn't need any help.

Until then, though, Sorey would need to get some rest as well. With Mikleo's hand still grasped gently in his own, Sorey carefully edged his way under the blankets and into the bed. He could see Mikleo breathing a little calmer now; maybe this bit of rest was helping after all. It was a small relief, but a relief nonetheless. Allowing himself that, Sorey finally allowed his eyes to close.

Nearby, a little window pop up on Mikleo's computer screen.

 _ **Aegis has logged in.**_  
 **Aegis** : Great job out there today, water boy.  
 **Aegis** : I TOLD you to be careful. And now look what happened.  
 **Aegis** : Don't count on me to bail you out every time. Your luck is about to run out.  
 **Aegis** : And when it does, you're not going have anywhere left to run.  
 **Aegis** : Rest while you can. Things are only going to get worse, and you're going to need every ounce of strength you can get.  
 **Aegis** : At least you've got PART of this mess figured out on your own. Keep up the good work.  
 **Aegis** : Oh, and whatever you do? Stay close to Sorey. Like I said, he's got a big part in all of this...just like you.  
 **Aegis** : Remember, Mikleo: you asked for this.  
 _ **Aegis has logged out.**_


	7. How To Greet Your Guardian

_**Aegis has logged in.**_  
 **knightofladylake** : Hello, Aegis!  
 **Aegis** : hello, alisha! ^o^  
 **Aegis** : how are the preparations for the sacred blade festival coming along?  
 **knightofladylake** : They're going much more smoothly, now. I didn't expect to be in charge of so much this year, but we got everything to work out.  
 **knightofladylake** : The museum is opening their exhibit tomorrow, featuring what are said to be artifacts from the Age of Chaos. Sadly, no one's been able to find the legendary Sacred Blade, so we had to order a replica. The Sparrowfeathers came through for us once again.  
 **knightofladylake** : We've still had other difficulties, though. We weren't able to reserve enough funding for the ceremony re-enactment this year.  
 **Aegis** : that's a shame. ;_; it's great to hear everything else is going well, though!  
 **Aegis** : wait, a ceremony re-enactment?  
 **knightofladylake** : Yes. Whoever draws the Sacred Blade would become known as the Shepherd, and combine his powers with that of the seraphim to purify malevolence.  
 **knightofladylake** : Originally, the ceremony was held in the Sanctuary of Ladylake. The Sacred Sword was placed in a pedestal, where it was said that the Lady of the Lake would judge the souls of all those attempted to draw it. Only those who were worthy would be able to wield the blade and become the Shepherd. **knightofladylake** : The ceremony hasn't been held for centuries, but sometimes during the festival we hold a mock ceremony instead, like the one we held last year. Ian had the idea of re-opening the Sanctuary and holding the re-enactment there. However, I wouldn't dare to defile sacred ground for such a thing. In addition, the Sanctuary has been closed off for some time now.  
 **knightofladylake** : I do appreciate her enthusiasm, though.  
 **Aegis** : it sounds so interesting! i wish i could see it sometime!  
 **knightofladylake** : Oh? You weren't here for last year's festival?  
 **Aegis** : unfortunately not ;-;  
 **knightofladylake** : That's right... You haven't been in the city for that long, either.  
 **knightofladylake** : Come to think of it, you've only been here about as long as Sorey has...  
 **knightofladylake** : Are you a friend of his? Or a relative, perhaps?  
 **Aegis** : something like that!  
 **Aegis** : although i'm afraid i can't say more...  
 **knightofladylake** : I see...  
 **Aegis** : i'm sorry ;A; i wish i could tell you, but it's very complicated...  
 **knightofladylake** : No, I understand.  
 **knightofladylake** : Although, I do wish I could meet you in person. It's a shame you're unable to leave home.  
 **Aegis** : i have a feeling it won't be too long before i can leave. although, sadly, that's not a good thing...  
 **knightofladylake** : It isn't? But wouldn't finally being able to get out and about be something to look forward to?  
 **Aegis** : it's a long story. ;-;  
 **knightofladylake** : It's alright if you can't explain.  
 **knightofladylake** : You're my friend, Aegis. I don't know much about you, and as strange as I may find that you know so much about me, you've shown me nothing but kindness and respect.  
 **knightofladylake** : Thank you.  
 **Aegis** : of course! you're my friend too, alisha! i'm glad we're able to chat like this. ^o^  
 **Aegis** : by the way, you really should get some rest. it's getting late!  
 **knightofladylake** : I still have a lot to take care of, though...  
 **Aegis** : you've been working very hard. you deserve some sleep.  
 **knightofladylake** : I'll get some rest, don't worry.  
 **Aegis** : wonderful! i'm going to get some sleep as well.  
 **Aegis** : good night, alisha!  
 **knightofladylake** : Good night, Aegis!  
 _ **knightofladylake has logged out.**_

Quietly, she pushed laptop away, her eyes closing in thought. Time was running out, and when it did, this charade would have to end.

Alisha would be safe for now. So far, Rose and Mikleo hadn't been quite so fortunate, but they were strong. They could take care of themselves; they would be fine. As for Sorey, it was only a matter of time before things got ugly. No amount of knowledge would grant anyone the power to stop that.

The candles flickered out and invited darkness once again, the chamber lit only by the moonlight filtering in through the windows. It was peaceful, but such peace was shallow and temporary; a calm before a mighty storm. Any seraph would be able to sense the thickening Malevolence outside and know better than to be at ease. Not that there were very many seraphim in Ladylake, though that was really where the good news ended. This whole scenario seemed too convenient. Too much of it made sense, too much of it was predictable. By this point, it was clear that none of it was a coincidence.

 _History_ does _have a terrible habit of repeating itself, doesn't it...?_

* * *

When Rose awoke, there was no one there, and her door was shut, and someone had taken the liberty of pulling the blankets back over her. However, her window had been opened again, and a gentle breeze was coming through as usual. Sitting up, she stretched, noting that her pain really was completely gone, and she smirked almost triumphantly. Weird dreams or no, naps really did solve everything.

Sure enough, when she went downstairs and had Rosh check on her injuries, there wasn't even a scar beneath the bandages. Not a single one of them knew how it had healed so fast. In the end, they chalked it up to Rose's uncanny ability to heal quickly and called it a day, but Rosh warned her to be careful just in case.

Needless to say, the visit to the festival grounds was met with some surprise by the twins. They'd been in the midst of setting up the booth with a few others when Rose arrived, and had temporarily put things to a halt to make sure she wasn't pushing herself too hard. Rose did, of course, let them know that she was absolutely fine, and moved on to business as usual, asking for progress reports and making a few suggestions and changes where necessary. After all was said and done, though, the twins weren't entirely convinced that Rose was ready to be out and about. After seeing that Rose wasn't in any major pain, though, they let it slide with little more than friendly suggestions that she take it easy just in case.

With the booth in good working order, Rose opted to head back to the store to help sort out a few of the last-minute orders they'd received. She'd be back to check on things in the evening when Sorey and Mikleo passed through the area to visit the museum. Rather than opting to take the normal route home, though, she decided to take a few shortcuts on the way to make things quicker.

Rose was about half-way through an alley before she realized that she wasn't alone. Her footsteps echoed off the walls, but among them she could hear a second set following her. If whoever was following her was some kind of thug or mugger, they were about to make the biggest mistake of their lives. She stilled her hand as it twitched towards one of the daggers she kept concealed in her vest. First things first: she needed to be sure that this wasn't a coincidence. There was no need to lash out at an innocent civilian if they happened to be following her for a less-than-malicious reason, after all. She'd had Sorey follow her into an alley out of concern before.

Pausing briefly, Rose pulled her phone out of her pocket, absently checking her text messages. The footsteps stopped a short distance away. A few seconds later, she slipped her phone into her pocket again, starting forward. The footsteps joined her. Still no one calling out to her. Her gut instincts had been right: Rose was _definitely_ being followed.

She slowed her speed intentionally, sinking into a more casual gait. The footsteps slowed with her, rather than keeping their pace to catch up. Good. If she could just lure her stalker close enough, she could take him out without warning. There was a wooden plank sitting at the end of the alley. It was hardly preferable to her trusty set of daggers, but she wanted to knock this stalker out, not kill them. Speeding up again, she maintained as casual a stride as she could, noting that her follower was speeding up to keep up with her. A soft wind blew through the alley at her back, bringing some calm to Rose's nerves via familiarity.

Once at the end of the alley Rose halted. In one swift motion, she grabbed the plank, turned around, swung-

"Wait-"

-and smacked the stranger following her on the side of the head.

The black-clad form of a tall man crumbled to the ground in an heap, letting out one last groan of pain. Rose edged towards the unconscious man, glaring and holding the plank up in case he stirred again or was otherwise just playing possum. Who did this creep think he was, following her around like that?

Only when she took a better look at him did she feel a strange sense of recognition, and she leaned in a little to get a better look. Now that he was in the light, she didn't immediately realize just who this was, but the details were unmistakable. Shaggy hair, a winged pendulum wrapped around one hand...no, _both_ hands... This was the man she'd seen in her room just last night.

Rose nearly dropped the plank to the ground. She'd been sure that she was just seeing things then, that it was just some dream. It was almost hard to believe, but there was no denying the reality of it with him right in front of her, awake or not. Even without all of that, something about him seemed oddly familiar, like she'd seen him somewhere else before, too. There were too many questions swarming her mind for her to think straight. Who was he? More importantly, what was he doing following her?

Well, whatever happened, she wasn't going to get her answers out here. Rose wasn't about to report to the authorities about this, either; something about it just didn't feel right. Just to be on the safe side, this was going to be Scattered Bones business. She pulled out her phone to try and contact the others, only to find that her battery had died on her way out. She must have forgotten to charge it last night. _Well, that's fine. I can handle this myself for now._

Plan B - hauling the stranger home herself, rather than with the help of others - wasn't ideal, but it worked. There was no pain in her side, so it ended up not being nearly as much trouble as it would have been. The man was much lighter than he looked, but still bulky enough to be awkward carrying around, and she was drawing more than a few stares trying to drag him back to her apartment. Trying to brush it off as bringing home a drunk friend only seemed to further the confusion, but most civilians seemed perfectly content to stay out of the way. By several yards, in some cases. There were even a few pointing children that were hurried away by their parents.

Taking the back door inside, Rose hauled the strange man up the stairs into the living room, unceremoniously dumping him onto the couch. He was still out cold... Good. That gave her some time to figure out what to do with this man. Plugging in her phone, Rose immediately grabbed a rope from a nearby closet and set to work tying up the man's arms and legs; tight enough to where he couldn't move but loose enough to where he wasn't hurt. While some part of her doubted that this man mean her any harm, the fact remained that she'd better stay on the safe side if she was going to question him.

The man grunted in pain, sneering and showing off a few abnormally sharp, pointy teeth. Rose pulled back abruptly. That...was new. People didn't have teeth like that. Normal people didn't, anyway.

A few seconds later, he stopped stirring. Slowly, carefully, Rose edged towards him, making sure not to wake him. Reaching out with one hand, she shoved a few fingers against his lips and pulled back. Two rows of shark-like, pointed teeth greeted her. What the hell was with this guy? Some kind of rare mutation? It certainly seemed like something she'd see on one of those weird medical TV shows-

"Boss?"

That voice was perhaps the most welcome thing she'd heard all day. Rose turned, looking up to see Rosh standing in the doorway, holding a small stack of receipts. She let out a relieved sigh. "There you are. Get over here and lend me a hand, will you?"

Rosh quirked an eyebrow, craning his neck a bit to glance at the couch before looking back at Rose. "With what?"

She could hardly believe his response. "What do you mean, 'with what'?" she responded. "Help me finish tying this creep up so we can question him when he comes to!"

The next thing that should have happened would be Rosh asking her what the hell happened. Why she'd brought a shaggy-haired, shark-toothed weirdo back into the apartment. But instead, a puzzled look crossed his face. "Maybe you need a little more rest..."

It was all she could do to keep from rolling her eyes. "I told you this morning, I'm fine!"

"Are you sure?"

Rose was halfway to letting out a frustrated groan before it dawned on her that something about this wasn't right. At any other time, Rosh would be over here in an instant. The strange man was sprawled out in plain sight, arms tied, and yet Rosh acted like no one was there. What the hell was going on? "Yeah, totally." She folded her arms. "Look, nevermind. Forget it."

After giving her another curious look, Rosh shrugged. "Alright. Don't push yourself too hard." With that, he headed back down the hallway to the shop.

Once Rose heard Rosh close the door behind him, she turned back to the unconscious man on the couch, noting that he'd hardly stirred. What was the deal? Even though she'd left the lights off, he wasn't exactly hard to see. And Rosh wasn't the type to joke around like that at all, especially not with some total stranger involved. Roes gave the man one more look over, trying to find something else she missed. Green-tipped silver hair, black jacket with green slits...no, none of this matched the description of any known locals, be they criminal or civilian. Maybe one of the regular customers they'd dealt with? No, they'd remember someone with a funny dye job and sharp teeth. What was she missing? Why would Rosh act like there was no one there? What was that saying that Sorey had? Something about the improbable being possible if nothing else added up? But then that would mean-

The pieces finally came into place, and it dawned on her. The people giving her funny looks on the street even with her explanation, Rosh acting unconcerned even with a total stranger in plain sight... Was this man a seraph? But she hadn't been able to see Mikleo even since meeting him. If this man really was one, why was she seeing him, and why now? What changed?

First things first. Rose raced over to her room to fetch her laptop. She'd have to call in some help from the only seraph experts she knew...

* * *

He was lost in a void of water, dark and endless and cold. No matter how he thrashed, no matter how much he reached out and silently screamed for help, none came. Darkness closed in rapidly on him. He thrashed wildly, attempting to swim to the surface, but there was no surface in sight. To make things worse, it felt like something was trying to drag him down, further and further into the abyss...and then it stopped.

He couldn't quite see it, but rather he _felt_ it. A warm stream of water surging through the cold, wrapping around him and surrounding him, like a shield or a blanket. Sorey felt his panic ebbing away and he finally relaxed, a warm feeling settling in his chest and spreading out to the rest of his body from head to toe. Only then did he realize just how tired he felt, and yet ironically it was also the moment that he awoke.

Sorey's eyes cracked open tiredly. The full moon shone through the window, bathing the bedroom in its light. For a moment, he could have sworn he saw a silhouette of someone standing on top of the building opposite of them, quietly watching, but he was so tired he was unable to tell if it was part of a dream or not. Unable to resist the call of slumber for too much longer, his eyes slid shut again and he curled up a little beneath the blankets.

Time passed, but the dreams did not return. All that remained was a feeling of foreboding threatening to creep in, held at bay only by some force he couldn't identify, something he _felt_ but couldn't quite see or hear...

 _"Sorey..."_

A voice roused him from his slumber hours later, but did little to convince him to fully awaken. Perhaps he was still dreaming...

 _"Sorey, wake up..."_

Stubbornly, Sorey turned over in bed, careful not to tug all the blankets over to himself. He needed to leave some for Mikleo, after all-

"Sorey!"

He woke with a start, eyes snapping open and twitching a little. Yawning, he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, glancing over at the clock. Ten fifty-two? He'd certainly slept in this morning. It was a good thing they had time off for the festival. Sorey looked over to see Mikleo sitting next to the window, hands folded in his lap. The seraph was giving him a mildly concerned look. "About time; I've been trying to wake you up for fifteen minutes now. You were mumbling in your sleep again."

"Sorry," Sorey replied, straightening a bit and stretching before climbing out of bed. He'd had this problem for some time, particularly since he'd moved to Ladylake from Elysia and begun having strange dreams. Mikleo seemed more worried than annoyed, but for the life of them they couldn't seem to figure out just what had caused it all. Still, aside from some occasional nightmares, it seemed fairly harmless, and Mikleo had done more worrying about it than Sorey had. "What about you? Did you sleep well?"

Mikleo shrugged, looking back out the window. "Yeah, actually. I'm still not sure just what happened yesterday, but I'm feeling a lot better now."

With how he was acting, it was a little hard to tell just how much better his companion was doing. He might not have seemed sick anymore, but Sorey knew him long enough to be able to tell when something was troubling him. There was no reassuring smile, no plain statement that he was fine. Something was definitely up. Still, it wouldn't be right to pressure him about it. If Mikleo was really worried about something, he'd bring it up. "I'm glad," he said. "You really scared me yesterday."

"I still can't figure out why it happened so suddenly," Mikleo admitted. "It takes a whole lot of Malevolence to get to me that fast."

"You think it was Malevolence...?"

"There's nothing else it _could_ be. What I'm wondering is what could have happened to bring about so much of it. Alisha's household is usually a pretty clear spot. If things there are getting bad, then I really have to wonder just how safe the city's going to be for _any_ seraph in the long run."

"Gramps did warn us that there would be a lot of Malevolence in the city," Sorey commented, frowning. Indeed, Zenrus had seemed quite worried about their decision to move to the city. Mikleo had insisted on going along to keep an eye on Sorey, but such a place would just as easily be a danger to seraphim as well. They would need to be careful. Still, it had seemed fine for the first few months, but now...

Mikleo folded his arms. "But it wasn't nearly this bad at first. Something must've changed recently if things are only getting bad now. If it keeps up, I don't know how much longer it'll be safe for me to be here."

Sorey felt an ache in his chest. Mikleo had always been by his side, ever since he was a little kid. They'd always looked out for one another (though Mikleo tended to bail Sorey out of trouble more than the other way around). Imagining life without him was borderline impossible. It pained Sorey to see Mikleo was suffering so much just for his sake. "Isn't there anything that can help?" Sorey asked. "I don't know if we can do anything about the Malevolence, but if there's something else that can make this easier on you..."

There was a moment of quiet while Mikleo closed his eyes, thinking. It was several long seconds before he replied. "I'd rather not find a vessel if I can help it," he said. "That would only be a temporary solution, with the way things are now."

"The Shepherd used to purify Malevolence all the time, right?" Sorey said. "Maybe if we can find a way to purify Malevolence like he did, we'd find a way to make the city safe for you."

As sensible as the suggestion had seemed to Sorey, Mikleo looked unconvinced. "Right, but the Shepherd made a special pact and went through various difficult trials in order to gain that power. That sort of thing is way out of our league."

"We might still be able to find something at the museum exhibit, though," Sorey pointed out. "That's opening up today, right?"

"It's worth a try, if anything." Mikleo stood up, brushing off his cape and pants. "Before we head out, though, _you_ need to eat breakfast."

"Breakfast? But it's almost eleven!"

"And the exhibit doesn't open until noon. We've got time."

As it turned out, all they had for breakfast was cereal. It worked just fine for both of them, considering their only other option was making toast, something that Mikleo still couldn't quite get the hang of for some reason ("It's not my fault it burns every time!"). Sorey had barely gotten half-way through his bowl when a series of pings rang out from his laptop and Mikleo's. Exchanging glances with Mikleo, Sorey briefly abandoned his breakfast and opened his laptop, only to be met with a flurry of messages.

 _ **mabocurrybuns has logged in.**_  
 **mabocurrybuns** : SOREY  
 **mabocurrybuns** : MIKLEO  
 **mabocurrybuns** : ARE EITHER OF YOU THERE?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : SOREYYYY MIKLEOOOO  
 **mabocurrybuns** : HEY  
 **mabocurrybuns** : ANSWER UR DAMN IMS OMG  
 **mabocurrybuns** : WHERE TEH HELL R U  
 **ruinsftw** : we're here, sorry!  
 **ruinsftw** : what's wrong, rose?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : FINALLY there u r  
 **mabocurrybuns** : i need u to come over like right now  
 **mabocurrybuns** : theres a seraph in my house  
 **twin-flow** : A seraph?!  
 **ruinsftw** : wait, i thought you couldn't see seraphim?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : apparently i can NOW! or at least i can see THIS one  
 **mabocurrybuns** : he was following me down an alley so i knocked him out n dragged him back home  
 **mabocurrybuns** : ive got him tied up now dont worry  
 **ruinftw** : what?  
 **twin-flow** : You did WHAT?!  
 **ruinsftw** : why?  
 **mabocurrybuns** : because he was creeping me out!  
 **mabocurrybuns** : look, i knocked him out, now hes on my couch, and i am NOT dragging him back outside again.  
 **mabocurrybuns** : now GET OVER HERE! i dont know what 2 do wit him!  
 **ruinsftw** : okay, okay! we'll head right on over.  
 **mabocurrybuns** : good  
 **mabocurrybuns** : ill tell rosh to leave the door open for u  
 **mabocurrybuns** : c u when u get here  
 _ **mabocurrybuns has logged out.**_

Sorey and Mikleo exchanged baffled glances. "I guess we're headed to Rose's place first, then?" Mikleo said.

"Yeah," Sorey replied. _Today sure did get strange in a hurry..._

* * *

After hastily finishing his breakfast, Sorey and Mikleo headed directly to the Sparrowfeathers Shop. Eguille greeted them with his usual friendly smile, though he looked a little baffled when they mentioned they mentioned Rose. Apparently she'd come home not long ago and had been acting strangely since then. Worried, Sorey and Mikleo wasted no time in climbing the stairs to the apartment above the shop, politely knocking on the door to Rose's living room when they arrived. It opened as he did. Worried, he gently pushed it open just in time to see Rose rushing in their direction.

"There you are!" She exclaimed. "I've been waiti..." Her words trailed off as her gaze shifted abruptly from Sorey to the seraph standing next to him. She took a shocked step back, her eyes widening. "...Mikleo?"

Sorey's jaw dropped. There was no mistaking it, Rose was looking right at the water seraph. "Rose?" Mikleo started. "You can see m-rrhg?!"

Mikleo's comment was cut short when Rose darted forward and pried Mikleo's mouth open. Ignoring his attempts to break free and his grunts of protest, she stared intently inside. "Huh. _Your_ teeth are all normal and stuff."

With a distorted and garbled noise of confusion, Mikleo finally pulled Rose's fingers out of his mouth and stumbled back. "What was _that_ for?!"

Rose ignored his comment and shushed him before hurrying to close the door. "Keep it down! I think he's still out."

"Who?" Sorey asked, although peering just behind Rose gave him enough of an answer. There, on the couch, was a tall man garbed in a black jacket and pants, tall boots, and leather gloves. His clothes were so strange and dated, he looked like someone out of a re-enactment play. Sorey could even see what appeared to be pendulums - much like the ones the strange wind seraph had used to save him, though differently shaped - clutched in his hands. It was hard to see his face, as it was covered mostly by shaggy silver hair, tipped in green. He was breathing, slowly and deeply, but otherwise didn't move. Rose had already tied his hands together behind him with some rope and forced him into an awkward sitting position, binding his ankles together as well. Regardless of whether or not this seraph meant well, Rose didn't seem keen on taking chances.

"Told you I had a seraph in here," Rose proclaimed. "Looks like Mikleo's not the only one in Ladylake, after all. Speaking of which..." she turned her gaze back to the water seraph. "Do all of you guys dress that way? I mean, no offense, but two capes? A shirt made out of belts? What, are you still living in the Age of Chaos or something?"

"What's wrong with the way I dress?" Mikleo protested.

"Hey, I never said it was _bad!_ I just said looks _weird!_ Like something you'd see in an Age of Chaos re-enactment or something."

"I don't think most seraphim really keep up with modern fashion trends," Sorey said, smiling a little sheepishly. "All the seraphim in Elysia wear stuff like this."

Rose gawked. "Seriously? Sheesh, I know they're invisible, but they really need to get with the times!"

At least she was taking this well. Sorey had hardly expected Rose to react this way to seeing Mikleo, let alone to see him at all. She looked about ready to bombard him with more questions when Mikleo turned his attention to the wind seraph on the couch. "Haven't we seen this guy somewhere before?" He asked.

Sorey nodded. "I think so..." He was sure he'd seen him before in the shop downstairs, but he'd dismissed it back then as just someone else who worked there, or just a strangely-dressed customer. After all, he'd been in a back corner, and neither he nor Mikleo could get a good view of him. Now it was clear that he wasn't any ordinary visitor, he was a seraph. But how long had he been here...? And even without that sighting, something about him seemed eerily familiar... "Where did you say you found him, Rose?"

"Well," she began, casting her gaze back at the unconscious seraph, "I think the first time I _actually_ saw him was last night, right before I went to sleep. At least, I'm _pretty_ sure I saw him. It was kinda dark at the time and I was still really tired, but I thought I saw someone sitting next to my bed. He was gone when I woke up, though. No trace of him or anything. Then I was coming back from checking on the booth at the festival grounds this morning and he was following me..."

Mikleo and Sorey exchanged glances. "So you attacked him..." Sorey asked.

"And?!" Rose protested. "I heard someone creeping behind me and I was pretty sure it wasn't anyone good, so I just turned around and took him out! Even if he _is_ a seraph, how am I supposed to know whether or not he wanted to hurt me?!"

"You could ask?" Mikleo offered flatly.

Sorey chuckled uneasily. What a mess... "Well, it's a bit late for that now. We'll have to wait until he wakes up."

Rose shoved her hands onto her hips. "Can't we just dump a bucket of water on him or something?"

"I don't think he'd be too happy about that..."

"I don't _care_ if he's happy! I just wanna know why he was following me like some kind of creep!"

Mikleo gently grabbed Sorey's shoulder, visibly wincing in pain. "Sorey..."

He didn't have time to ask Mikleo what was wrong. A loud scratching noise made itself known at the door, prompting wide-eyed stares from both Sorey and Rose. Seconds later, they were accompanied by loud and angry snarling. Rose took a hesitant step back. "Um... Do either of you want to tell me what that is?"

"Whatever it is, it's not good!" Mikleo cried as the scratching got louder and escalated into something banging relentlessly against the door. "Everyone, get back!"

They did so not a moment too soon. The door exploded into splinters and a snarling creature charged into the room. It could only be described as some kind of wolf, but there was no way any ordinary wolf would be this far inside city limits, nor would it have fangs that long or eyes that shade of red. Mikleo wasted no time in summoning his staff and sending a barrage of ice spikes to slam into it. The wolf, undeterred, turned its attention to the water seraph and let out a warning growl before it charged, knocking him over and pinning him to the ground.

Luckily, it took Rose all of a split second to get over the shock of whatever the hell had just begun, and she pulled out a dagger - what was Rose doing with a weapon like that?! - and drove its serrated edge into the wolf's shoulder. The beast shrieked in pain and turned its hungry gaze onto her. Sorey took the opportunity to ram his shoulder into the wolf, sending it tumbling off balance long enough for him to help Mikleo to his feet.

The wolf scrambled to its feet, claws scraping the floor as it charged towards Rose. It was met with a chair being swung at its face, the wood shattering into splinters and sending it stumbling back a few steps, its eyes shut tight as it snarled angrily. Rose took the opportunity to stab it again, only to abandon the attack and scamper out of the way as the wolf snapped at her. Its jaws missed her by inches, instead shredding off a section of her sleeve.

It was then that a powerful gust of wind blew through the room, enough to catch humans, seraphim, and monster alike off guard. Furniture toppled, glass fell to the floor and shattered, splinters from the destroyed door and chair blew about and scattered. At first, Sorey worried that some other monstrosity had come to make things worse, but he saw no additional enemies, nor any open windows or doors. It was just them. Only one thing had changed: the seraph on the couch was no longer lying on the couch. He was sitting straight up, undeterred by the wind.

"That's enough."

The seraph sliced the ropes off of his arms with what appeared to be a fancy pocket knife, dropping it the moment his limbs were free. In one swift motion, he flung the pendulums out of his hands, lashing them like whips to ensnare the hellion and slam it against the floor. It no time to react before a series of ethereal chains launched themselves out of the floor, impaling the wolf and denying it even one final scream. Another pulse of wind accompanied the chains bursting, and the wolf fell to the floor. A dark fog seemed to fade from the wolf, revealing what appeared to be a lifeless Marlind Hound beneath.

With the enemy own, the wind seemed to slow to a subtle breeze, hardly still but barely enough to move even the splinters or glass shards on the floor. The silence was almost deafening, everyone in the room staring at the canine that lay dead in the middle of the floor. Rose inched towards the dog, nudging it with her boot. There was no response. "Whatever that was," she said uneasily, "At least it's dead now."

Mikleo stood up straight again, dismissing his staff. "That thing..." he began. "That was a hellion, was it?"

The wind seraph let out a discontent huff. "Of course it was," he responded, picking up his pocket knife again to sever the ropes around his legs. "What else would you call that thing? You sensed that Malevolence, didn't you?"

"Well..." Mikleo started. "Yeah, I did. But I wasn't expecting one to show up _here_."

Sorey's eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Then things really are getting worse," he mumbled. Malevolence alone was bad enough, but if it was thick enough to start breeding hellions, then it wasn't safe in the city anymore.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hang on!" Rose said, her expression riddled with confusion. "Malevolence? Hellions? What the hell are you guys talking about?"

The explanation didn't come easily, especially with Rose so confused and still in shock from seeing seraphim for the first time, but luckily Sorey was good at simplifying the explanation. He told her as much as he could, about how human dwellings - especially cities - tended to harbor a lot of Malevolence. That Malevolence was typically a toxic thing for seraphim, with too much of it making them sick or worse. That Malevolence in high enough amounts could turn people or animals into monsters. "We never thought we'd actually run into any hellions _here_ , though," he explained. "We think something might be making it worse."

"But he was fine before, right?" Rose asked. "Why only now?"

"Probably because he's a water seraph," the wind seraph intoned.

Mikleo glanced over to the couch. "What does that have to do with anything?"

The air stirred in the room, kicking up a small breeze. "I've been told before that water is the most easily corruptible of the four elements," he said. "It's just a guess, of course, but it makes sense that a water seraph would be more sensitive to Malevolence than any other kind of seraph."

"And it's only going to get worse if all of this keeps up," Sorey added. "We need to find something to do about this before it gets worse."

The wind seraph scoffed, standing up. Even though they couldn't see his eyes, the frown alone was enough of a clue that he was glaring daggers at them all. "Good luck with that. No one's been able to do _anything_ about Malevolence for hundreds of years."

Sorey opened his mouth to speak, but he caught Mikleo casting the strange seraph a wary glare. Rose scowled, putting her hands on her hips. "Hey, sit back down! I've got some questions for you!"

"If you're going to put your fingers in my mouth again, I'll bite them off."

"I don't _care_ about your creepy teeth! I just want to know why you were following me!"

Letting out an irate sigh, the seraph did as he was told, sitting back down on the couch and folding his arms. "I'm what you might call a guardian seraph," he replied. "Keeping an eye on you is my job."

"Oh yeah?" Rose growled. "And who put you up to it?"

He barely even shook his head. Instead, the seraph opted to stare at the wall for a moment. "No one. It was my choice."

"So you _chose_ to follow me like a creep into that alley?" Rose replied, glaring. She hardly looked convinced.

The man snarled, showing off rows of sharp, pointed teeth. " _You're_ the one that picked the most dangerous route back here! Besides, I wasn't aware you could sense me yet."

"That's hardly even an excuse! I can take care of myself just _fine_ , thanks; I don't need some invisible weirdo following me around babysitting me!"

Sorey was about to interject that such a comment towards a self-proclaimed "guardian" seraph was probably rude at best and irreverent at worst, but the man seemed more annoyed than insulted. He scowled, but didn't offer a response other than looking away. Rose seemed too annoyed in kind to respond right away, so Sorey took the moment to interject before things got too heated. "What's your name?"

To his relief, the seraph's scowl seemed to lessen a little. Another short breeze blew through the room, toying with the strings on Sorey's hoodie for a moment, before he got an answer. "...Dezel."

 _Dezel..._ Something about the name stirred yet another sense of nostalgia. Maybe he'd read it somewhere before... "How long've you been in Ladylake, Dezel?"

The wind seraph gave Sorey's question a few seconds of thought. "...as long as I can remember," he said at last. "But my memories only go back a few years. Everything before that's a blur."

Rose gave Dezel a suspicious look, but other than a thoughtful hum, she said nothing. Sorey had seen her like this sometimes in the past; she would never explain what got her into those moods and she'd bounce back out of them like nothing happened. In time, he'd learned not to question them, no matter how worrying they might be at times. Nothing ill ever seemed to come from it, so it probably wasn't worth worrying about anyway. Still...a seraph that could only remember the recent past. Had something stolen away his memories? Sorey couldn't help but feel concerned, but he knew better than to outright ask about it.

Luckily, he didn't have to; Mikleo filled the void of silence instead. "Has the Malevolence ever been this bad before?"

"Not even _close_." The words alone were enough to make Sorey's heart sink in dread. "Every now and then there's a small spike, but it usually stays pretty easy to tolerate."

Rose finally spoke up. "So whatever's going on here _definitely_ isn't normal, right?" She says. "There anything we can do about it? I dunno about you, but I like my city monster-free, thanks."

"According to the Celestial Record," Mikleo began, "the Shepherd could dispel Malevolence with the flames of purification. Thing is, there hasn't been a Shepherd for hundreds of years, so there's no telling when or even _if_ another one will appear."

It wasn't a very hopeful answer. Dezel was hard to read, but Rose was clearly discouraged by this...for a moment. "Then there has to be some _other_ way to clear the Malevolence, right? It seems kinda weird to have all the eggs in one basket."

"There's only so much we can learn from the Celestial Record alone," Sorey agreed. "The museum's opening a new exhibit today. We might be able to find some kind of hint there."

"Oh great," Rose wailed, her hopeful look being replaced with one of exasperation. "Just what I wanted to do this evening. Go sleuthing around a museum."

Dezel let out a half-amused snort, and Mikleo couldn't help but grin. Sorey, on the other hand, offered her an almost apologetic look. As supportive as she was of Sorey and Mikleo's interests, Rose never shied away from making clear that she didn't care much for it herself. Even though he didn't mind it, Sorey didn't want to drag her along in this pursuit. "You don't have to come if you don't want to, Rose. We can-"

The shopkeeper put her hands on her hips and glared Sorey down with determination. "Of course I'm coming! I don't get all this history stuff, but I'm not about to sit back and do nothing, either. If things really are that bad, then I want to help."

"In that case," Dezel said, "I'm coming, too. If there are any more hellions out there, you're going to need someone who _actually_ knows how to fight them."

Mikleo scowled at Dezel, but said nothing.

Sorey nodded. "Alright. The exhibit should be open by the time we get there. Let's go."

Rose grabbed Sorey by the hood. "Hold on there, Mister Historian," she said sternly, working her big-sister tone as strongly as ever. "That exhibit isn't going anywhere. First things first, we need to check out the shop to make sure everyone else is okay. Who knows how much damage that thing might've caused on its way up to us."

"She's right," Mikleo said. "Let's check on everyone else first. If anyone's hurt, we need to make sure they're properly tended to."

* * *

Two figures stood perched on top of the Sanctuary. A few dogs barked at them from below, some cats stared out their windows at them. Every now and then a human would notice them, only to dismiss it as their imaginations and continue on their way. It was to be expected; seraphim had been absent for so long that even those who could see them and could believe them were so accustomed to their absence. Either way, it made meeting up simple.

"About time you got back," came an unimpressed greeting from what appeared to be a young girl. There wasn't even eye contact. "I thought you'd be gone for at least a week. You almost missed the festival."

"I _did_ tell you it wasn't going to take all that long, didn't I?" He grinned, folding his arms. He all but towered over the other seraph, but it never seemed to phase her. Then again, hardly anything ever did. "Ran into a few detours yesterday, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. You keeping things under control?"

"Barely. Things are moving along faster than we thought."

As he looked at the sky, he could see it. A thick miasma, invisible to human eyes, but all too clear to his own. He hadn't seen it above Ladylake in so long, at least not _this_ bad. For things to go down hill this fast now...

"The only good thing about all this is that we're prepared for the worst," she continued, still watching the city. "If we need to move fast, then we can. All we need to do is skip a few steps in the plan. It'll be annoying, but it's better than letting all our hard work go to waste."

"No one's hard work is going to waste," he insisted, his voice growing serious and dark. "We've come too far to let anything go downhill now."

She finally looked at him. It was hard to really figure out what she was feeling underneath that stern expression. Not that it would make much difference, either way. "If anything big happens," she began, "You know what to do. Just make sure everyone stays safe this time."

The man smirked, tipping the brim of his medal-adorned hat. "Of course I will. Why else do you think I'm called Aegis?"


End file.
